Pope Field Airmen complete inaugural All-American marathon

by Tech. Sgt. Peter R. Miller
440th AW/PA

5/7/2014 - Pope Field, N.C. -- Two reservists from the 440th Airlift Wing here competed in the inaugural All-American Marathon at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, May 4.

"On All-American freeway, they had pictures of fallen soldiers set up in a long row," said Master Sgt. Thomas Yurchak, non-commissioned-officer-in-charge of supply for the 440th Logistics Readiness Squadron. "I don't know how many there were, but they seemed to go forever. If I wasn't dehydrated, I probably would have cried. It was a very powerful tribute to our fallen heroes."

The race was Tech. Sgt. Edward Harmond's 14th marathon.

"Seeing the wounded warriors finishing a marathon was great," said Harmond, a member of the 440th Security Forces Squadron  "There were quite a few wounded warriors out there on hand cycles and there was a blind runner who was blinded in Afghanistan."

Yurchak said that the toughest part of the race was on Honeycutt Road near the end of the race.

"It was incredibly steep," said Yurchak. "I was struggling before that, but that hill put the nail in my coffin."

Harmond agreed.

"It was a good course, but that hill around mile 23 was some infantryman's idea of a cruel joke," said Harmond, a former U.S. Army infantryman.

"I had planned on doing the half, so I hadn't been training for the full marathon," said Harmond. "I wouldn't recommend that anybody go out and run a full marathon if they haven't been training for it. I had to pace myself and slow down.  Once you get to that last 6 or 8 miles, it becomes a game of mental toughness.  It doesn't matter who you are or how much you train."

More than 780 runners signed up for the All American Marathon and 500 for the 5K, said race organizers. Registration for the Mike to Mike Half Marathon was closed after more than 2,000 runners registered to compete. More than 1,100 volunteers from Fort Bragg, Fayetteville and the surrounding communities made the races possible.