FORT RILEY, Kan. - A team comprised of senior and junior noncommissioned officers, officers, Soldiers and civilians from Irwin Army Community Hospital will run the Army 10-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 9.
The 15 runners are Lt. Col. Laura Trinkle, Command Sgt. Maj. Junior Riley, Master Sgt. Jon Gran, Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Coots, Staff Sgt. Johnathan Townsend, Sgt. Rachel Cunningham, Sgt. Shawn Sharpe, Cpl. Christina Garcia, Spc. Monica Oropeza, Spc. Roy Rasmussen, Pvt. Joel Garnica, Wendy Hersh, Shadd Soper and Davina Goines.
"(We're) getting a group of people together that consists of so many personalities and jobs and positions within the hospital, but we all have one goal in mind--get to D.C. and run the Army ten-miler and make some memories," Cunningham said.
The runners have been running together according to a training calendar Trinkle provided, and many have been running a long time, Cunningham said.
The main reasons why members of the team run have to do with physical, mental and Family benefits.
"I want to be a promoter of health and a motivator of others to do the same," Townsend said.
Running provides mental fitness for many members of the team.
"I say running keeps me sane," Trinkle said.
"Whether I've got a problem to solve, need to blow off steam, want to meditate, or organize my day, I always seem to do it well while I'm running," Oropeza said.
Running frees Cunningham from life's daily stressors, she said.
Many of the runners have taken up running as a leisure activity or have entered the race because of a family connection.
"I want to have physical stamina to run after the little ones, now and when they're not so little anymore, to shoot hoops with the kids and not be winded; to wrestle with my son and teach him how to stick and move; to kick the soccer ball with the grandkids when it comes to that time," Townsend said.
Trinkle's father is a runner and still going strong at 70 years old, and she wants to be like him, she said.
"I've progressed to marathons and triathlons and now contemplating the next goals--full Ironman and a trail marathon," Trinkle said.
Garcia said she is dedicating her run in memory of her brother who passed away.
"He is the reason I am here (in the Army), and he is the reason I push myself and try to excel in all I do," Garcia said.
The team has runners who started as young as middle school age, continued while in the Army and run in their leisure time after serving in the Army.
"Running is an investment that gives the return of good health, positive energy and peace of mind," Goines said.
Social Sharing