SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras –
Seven Soldiers and one Sailor represented Joint Task Force-Bravo at the 26th Annual Army Ten-Miler race Oct. 24 in Washington, D.C.
Team JTF-B took 22nd place out of 46 teams in the Active Duty Mixed Team category with a scored time of 5:01:21, which is the combined time of the top three male runners and the female runner.
The team members included Capt. Jose Nunez, 1st Lt. Ky Felbaum, CW2 Philip Calcese, CW2 Eric Roen, CW2 Corey Horan, and Command Sgt. Major Lucio DeAnda, all with the 1-228th Aviation Regiment, as well as LN2 Rosemary Cronin, of the Judge Advocate Office, and Command Sgt. Maj. Alvin Thomas, of Army Forces.
Sergeant Major Thomas, as the team captain, put the group together in May after a series of try-outs. While he put the runners through a rigid work-out schedule, the goal was not about winning.
"I want to create a positive environment and relationships where we're meeting our goals and running our best," said Sergeant Major Thomas, who last ran the Army Ten-Miler in 1998. "It's about camaraderie."
The impressive thing to see was how each person set, met and then exceeded their personal goals, the sergeant major said. For example, when CW2 Calcese, who was training as an alternate, was asked to step up to go to the race, he took over as the team's best runner. He now averages seven minutes per mile.
LN2 Cronin said she has also gained a lot from joining Team JTF-B. Since she started running competitively four years ago, the 26-year-old Sailor said she enjoys participating in races and competitions in order to set new fitness goals.
"You learn something new at every practice," LN2 Cronin said. "We have amazing runners who constantly challenge you to get better."
The members of Team JTF-B are weren't the only amazing people at the Army Ten-Miler, according to Sergeant Major Thomas. Almost 19,000 of the 30,000 runners are military members or family members of military personnel.
"It is an honor to be in Arlington, (Va.), with all that history, as a servicemember and run with people who make the ultimate sacrifice," he said. "It means a lot to participate."
For more information on the Army Ten-Miler and for full race results, go to
www.armytenmiler.com.