Bataan Memorial Death March 2010

The Bataan Memorial Death March is an annual event held at the White Sands Missile Range, NM to commemorate the 60-mile forced march of American and Filipino prisoners of war by the Japanese in 1942. At least 6,000 of these men died or were killed on the march. The Memorial March is a 26.2 mile course that traverses paved roads, sandy paths and desert terrain over hills and valleys.

The 2010 march drew 5,704 civilian and military participants from all 50 states, at least 4 of the armed services, and 5 countries, including more than two dozen Wounded Warriors (amputees from Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam.) There were several categories to choose from, but Cam and his friend, Jason, chose the Military Individual Heavy category. This meant they were required to be in full service uniform (ACUs) and carry a 35lb rucksack (not including their own water supply.) Cam and Jason trained together several weekends a month by rucking trails around town and tackling the Transmountain Pass.

The day began at 2:45AM and saw all four of us (Cam, me, Jason, and Jason's wife, Charla) at the Missile Range in time for the Marchers continental breakfast at 4:30AM. It was a brisk 24 degrees and breakfast was scarffed down in the truck with heaters at full blast! After a pretty painful Opening Ceremony (still @ 24 degrees), the sun began to rise, the boys grabbed their rucks and headed off into the desert.

For the next 9 hours, Charla and I entertained ourselves by: warming up with a lovely breakfast, gabbing non-stop in the truck, napping in the truck, and when it finally warmed up, talking a walking tour of the White Sands Missile Range. (We decided that if the boys do this next year, we'll see them off and then come home and wait it out!)

After a grueling day, Cam and Jason crossed the Finish Line together with an approximate time of 8hr 33mins. Their rucks were immediately weighed and found to be 55lb (Cam) and 50lbs (Jason). While these measurements did include their remaining water, both boys decided that they hedged their bets a little TOO much!

Following a quick bite on post, we headed home to long, hot showers, dinner, and finally collapsing in bed. Cam was a little sore, but his well-worn-in boots prevented any serious foot injuries. He was glad that he participated and happy he trained for it, through he swears that this was a ONCE IN A LIFETIME activity (at least the Heavy category)!

Freezing at the Opening Ceremony

Gearing Up

Start of the March

How Charla and I spent most of 9 hours

FINISH LINE!!!

Weighing Cam's Ruck = 55lbs (20lbs over required limit)

Lunch/Dinner after the March

Racing Fools

Cam has discovered a new "hobby".  About once a month, he competes in races in and around El Paso.  The latest race on Nov. 7th  was the 5th Annual 2009 Grape Race!  It was sponsored by and took place at Zin Valley Vineyards in Anthony, TX (about 10 miles northwest of El Paso).

Cam ran the 8K race and improved his time by over 3 minutes.  This may be attributed to his participation in the daily Running PT at Ft. Bliss for the last 3 weeks.  He even completed 30 miles total (including this race) during that week! 

For my first race EVER, I decided to take it easy and did the 1 mile "fun walk".  While I walked faster than I thought I might, I am now more motivated to start training for the 5K run/walk coming up in December.

Following the race, the Vineyard supplied wine for tasting and PK Chang's provided a catered dinner.  If only all the races had such incentives to finish!

Pre-race Photo

 

Kristy crossing the finish line!

 

Cam crossing the finish line!

Cam had been participating in the Running PT for the last three weeks in order to train for the 10K Run Post Championship on Nov. 14th.  The training proved to be beneficial again as he was able to maintain a less-than-9-minute mile pace during this race!  Keep up the good work, Cam!

 

The BOLC III 2nd LTs that ran the 10K

World's Fastest 10K

Cam participated in the World's Fastest 10K race yesterday (10/11/09). The race is a nearly all downhill run down the side of the Franklin Mountains (the mountain range that runs through the middle of El Paso, TX) and used by many "professional" runners to improve on their personal best time! The road course starts at an elevation of 5,200 feet (the summit of a pass over the mountain) and finishes at 3,800 feet.

Like last time, we met up with a couple of friends prior to the race. Charla ran the 2 mile fun run and Jason (a lifelong cross-country/track runner) used the 10K as a warm-up for the Albuquerque Marathon taking place next weekend. Cam and Jason were even joined by their Battalion XO, Major McCoy in the race. Approximately 175 people ran and Cam finished 12th in his age category with a time of 49 minutes 28 seconds. He even beat his goal time of 50 minutes!

After the race, despite tight muscles, Charla and Jason joined us for a yummy brunch at our favorite local greasy spoon! We all are looking forward to the next few races coming up, including a costume race for Halloween, a race at a local winery (with free booze at the finish line!) in November and a Jingle Bell run in December.

Cam before the start of the race

Cam coming into land at the finish line (note his race #)

Crossing the finish line with a time of 45:28

The runners (L to R): Major McCoy, Cam, Jason, Charla

Run, Cam! Run!

Cam participated in the 16th Annual German American Night Run 8K last night at Ft. Bliss. The event was hosted by the post's MWR and the German Air Force Defense Center in honor of Oktoberfest! (The German Air Force has been a fixture for many years at Ft. Bliss training with the US Army on missile systems.) Prior to the race, we met up with some of Cam's fellow 2nd Lieutenants and our friends, Jason and Charla.

The 5 mile race course was around the streets on post and therefore, was a pretty flat run. For his first race, Cam felt he did relatively well and managed to maintain his goal average-mile pace. We are looking forward to many more races in the months to come, including a 10K in October and a possible half-marathon in March!

After the race, we pigged out on German brats, beers and goodies with our friends before heading home to watch the DVR'd Coug versus Hawaii game. On second thought, we should have stayed at the park and rocked out with the German Air Force band ...

Some of the gang that ran (L-to-R: Charla, 2LT Jason, 2LT Cam, 2LT Dan)

We were serenaded by the German Air Force band with German and English covers of music ranging from Billy Ray Cyrus to AC/DC!

Cam finished with a time of 46:45

Obvious Dinner Choice: Brats w/ Sauerkraut

German goodies provided by the German Wives' Bake Sale (YUM!)