FORT BRAGG, N.C. - "I love to run, I love to challenge myself, and I love the camaraderie with my unit," Cozette Teasley said. "I'm 42 years old and I want to run until I'm 100."
Passion is what runners said was needed at the 14th Annual Joint Special Operations 10K run with a course filled with long, sandy, and muddy hills. More than 800 participants ran in the Special Operations Communicators Association sponsored 10K run and 5K walk held in the trails behind McKellar's Lodge, Nov. 10. This year's participants by far surpassed last year's attendance of 480 runners.
Jeffrey Glick was the overall winner with a time of 37 minutes and 35 seconds, followed a couple of minutes by Matthew Davis with a time of 39:43. The first female to cross the line, Nicole Smith, had a time of 44:09, followed closely behind by Sara Dudley with a time of 44:35.
The difficult course proved no match for Glenn Lane, an 81-year-old runner, who crossed the finish line in one hour, 20:31 seconds.
But Marc Hood agreed with others that the course was difficult on him.
"My favorite part was the finish line," he joked.
Rachel Thomas and Tom Reddy also agreed that the most challenging parts of the course were the up hills and both enjoyed the down hills to the finish line.
"The sand and the hills were rough," said Kourtney Wilson. "But it was a beautiful trail and it was exciting not knowing what was around the corner."
For Issac Sims the run sounded like fun and a lot of his friends were running in the race so he decided to join them.
"The weather was good and it's for a good cause," said Sims. "It was a great course."
For Ivan Castro, an avid runner, the race was about his love of running and pushing himself to the limits.
"I'm with my unit, my friends and the course was a challenge - it was great," said Castro, a captain in the Special Forces. "This (special operations) is my Family and part of our community and this race is for a great cause."
This was Castro's second year running the race and he said he'd be back for next year's race. With the help of his brother and his boss, Castro, a wounded Soldier who still serves on active-duty, was led down the winding, bumpy trail.
For Castro, the challenging course was just a little bit more difficult. An explosion of a mortar round cost him his eyesight while he was deployed in Iraq of 2006. But Castro proved, as he has since his injury, that challenges are worth the effort and has ran in numerous races and marathons.
"This definitely takes patience," smiled Castro. "But with one step at a time, you can make it. Who really needs the recognition are the women who pushed their children in strollers through this course, they're my heroes."
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