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by Staff Sgt. Rachelle Blake
325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

2/13/2014 - TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla.  -- Two Tyndall Airmen will participate in the 4th Annual Destin 50 Beach Ultra Marathon at the Tops'l Resort in Destin, Fla., Feb. 16.

"The event is comprised of a 50-mile run, a 50K run and a 24-hour all sand run," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Petty, 325th Force Support Squadron Airmen Leadership School instructor. "We are participating in the 50 miler. This is the second year in a row that runners from Tyndall are participating."

All proceeds go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, he added.

According to the SOWF website, since 1980, the SOWF has helped ensure the children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel killed during operations or training, receive all-expenses-paid college scholarships.

They also send overnight financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel, which allows the family members of these warriors to be with their hospitalized loved ones as they begin the recovery process. The money pays for such expenses as airfare, babysitters, motels, incidentals and even bills.

Tech. Sgt. Brandon Gremillion, 325th FSS ALS instructor, and Petty are extremely motivated to support the cause for the second time.

"Last year, we saw the Destin 50 pop-up on Facebook and liked it, then we saw they were giving away free runs to active duty military," said Petty, a Chicago native. "I didn't even know what it was, but we put our names in the hat and won it. Our prize was a 50-mile run in the sand and that is how it all started."

With little time to prepare, they had no idea what they were up against.

"Initially, when I led into it, I thought it was going to be awesome, but when we really got going, reality set in," said Gremillion, a Nederland, Texas, native. "You just have to keep telling yourself don't quit, keep going, ignore the pain and don't cave into it, because it is going to hurt."

This year, they began training early.

"Last year we only trained for about three weeks, so this year we ramped it up," said Petty. "We have done three long runs on the beach, a 20, 15 and 13 mile run. We do the long slow runs to get our bodies acclimated."

Gremillion said they also run on the road several days a week and the core to their preparation is balance.

"It is very rigorous," said Gremillion. "We basically torture our bodies, while also learning how to nourish it."

Even with the extensive training, Petty said during the race, the body eventually wants to give up.

"The hardest part is when you hit that wall," said Petty. "Gremillion hit the wall five miles before I did last year. I told him I had no idea what he was talking about and then right around mile 33 I started dying, but my family was there, so it was hard to quit and we didn't. We just pushed through and finished it."

Gremillion echoed his sentiment.

"Motivation is hard to come by when you are getting beat down," said Gremillion. "About 30 miles in you begin to ask yourself, 'why am I doing this?' You just have to keep talking yourself through it. If you think about why you are running, the special operators we are running for and the sacrifice other people gave, then you realize, they didn't give up, so why should you."

The organization is not the only reason they are running. They said they want to teach their Airmen perseverance and resiliency.

"As a military member, I like to exude that we don't quit, we don't stop and anything is possible," said Petty. "It is the same as ALS. We have 21 and 22-year-olds that come through and want to quit during the runs and I let them know I am a 29-year-old technical sergeant and I am about to run 50 miles in the sand. You can push through and be that role model for your subordinates as well."

Last year the sergeants finished the race in 12 hours, this year they hope they finish in under 10.

"Crossing the finish line, I have never felt such a vast array of emotion," said Gremillion. "You want to stop and curl up in a ball because you are in so much pain. You see your family and the event coordinators and they are all congratulating you and putting a ribbon around your neck. You know you have just accomplished something that very few people accomplish. It is overwhelming. You are amazed the human body can endure so much."

The pair hopes to continue competing in ultra marathons. They have their eyes on the Georgia Death Race, a 68-mile run through the mountains of Georgia that traverses 32,000 feet above elevation.