USAFE Sponsors Teams to Participate in the 12th Annual USAF Marathon

Published July 2, 2008
By USAFE Services Marketing and Entertainment

SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany -- The 12th Annual United States Air Force Marathon takes place Sept. 20, 2008, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio and USAFE is sponsoring teams to participate.
Applicants should submit their Air Force Form 303 to the USAFE Sports Office not later than August 18. The USAFE Team will be announced August 20 and details for transportation to Wright-Patterson will be provided September 1.

Events include the marathon, wheelchair marathon, half marathon, individual 10K, and team 10K. In addition, a 5K race takes place September 19 at Wright State University. USAFE members are authorized Permissive Temporary Duty to participate in this event and runners are encouraged to create unit or base teams.

The first official marathon was held Sept. 20, 1997, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Air Force, and is held in September each year in celebration of the U.S. Air Force birthday. To commemorate the service's history in flight, each year one aircraft is chosen to be highlighted during the marathon and on the unique finisher's medal presented to each race participant.

The race has grown over the years to more than 5,000 participants in 2007. The course is a 26.2-mile run that traverses historical places on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, including the National Museum of the United States Air Force, the Air Force Institute of Technology, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, the Wright-Patterson AFB flight line, Huffman Prairie Flying Field, and the Wright Brothers Memorial Monument.

All levels of runners participate from around the world, including marathon, wheelchair, relay (four-person teams), half-marathon, and five-kilometer runners. The USAF Marathon is certified by the USA Track and Field Association with the course containing a large number of hills.

In 2007, more than 6,300 runners participated in all marathon-related events, including an affiliated 5K road race held in partnership with Wright State University on their campus. There were 1,639 runners in the full marathon.

For more information, interested individuals may contact Tom Burkett at 478-1488, 478-2301, or 478-2302. Additional information can be found on www.usafefitness.org and www.USAFMarathon.com.