HUMPHREYS GARRISON, South Korea - The 26th annual Army Ten-Miler, in Washington, D.C., drew a full field of 36,000 runners this year, plus an additional 225 Soldiers, Family Members and Civilian employees from Humphreys Garrison, who stepped off at the same time as their Washington compatriots, Oct. 24.
With the Washington race starting at 8 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, that meant in order to coordinate the starting times, the Humphreys' race had to start at 9 p.m. here. While the weather was in the 60s in D.C., it was in the 50s here - a comfortable night for running.
"This was an idea that came from the sergeants major at Humphreys Garrison," said Command Sgt. Maj. Jason K. Kim, the Humphreys Garrison command sergeant major. "We took the concept to Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Sports, and they made it happen."
Because of the late hour and darkness, the entire Humphreys Perimeter Road was closed an hour before race time and remained closed until the race was completed.
The route started at the Super Gym and went around the perimeter twice, finishing at the Super Gym. And, like the official Army Ten-Miler, all runners wore a computer chip that gave them an exact time from start to finish, with a five-mile split.
"In reality, it was really a little more than 10 miles," said Lonnie Herring, sports director. "But, because of the layout of the installation, it was as close to 10 miles as we could make it."
To add a Washington touch to the race, each mile was marked with a sign that told runners how far they had run and had a photo of where they would be if they were running in D.C.
"The signs were a nice touch and were right on," said Maj. Gen. John MacDonald, who traveled from Yongsan Garrison to participate in the race. "I've run the Ten-Miler, and the signs telling me I was at a certain place in the race with a photo of the Lincoln Memorial or other landmarks were a great touch. Overall, this was a really good race...a great idea."
MacDonald wasn't alone in his high praise for the Humphreys race, and runners showed their appreciation to race workers by changing their running pace to offer road guards, medics and individuals working water points a "high five" and "kamsa hamnida" as they ran by.
The night's fastest time for the 10-plus mile race was one hour, six minutes and 39 seconds, recorded by Paek Myong-chol, a Korean Civilian employee with the Directorate of Logistics. He won the Men's Senior (30-39) division. The fastest women's time was 1:32.06, recorded by Women's Senior (30 and over) champ Capt. Sindi Connell, of Headquarters Detachment, 719th Military Intelligence Battalion.
Other category winners were: Capt. Jacob Meyer, Headquarters Support Company, 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion, won the Men's Open Division (29 and under), at 1:16:39; Chief Warrant Officer 3 Shane Davis, of K-16 Air Base, won the Men's Master's (40-49), at 1:13:30 and Dave Elger, the Area III Health Promotion Coordinator, won the Over 50 Division, finishing with the second best overall time of 1:07:13. Women's Division winners included Casey Sawyer, a family member with Bravo Company, 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion, at 1:33:57 in the 29 and under; and Korean Civilian Kim Hee-ok in the Over 40, at 1:32:38. There was one youth runner, Victor Rowell, a family member with 4th Attack Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, who ran the route in 1:29.30.
"Everything went off with a hitch," Herring said, "and this was a great example of the entire community working together to make something happen. We had great support from the military police, medics ... everyone who was involved."
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