Well, we had the 1st ever Kandahar Air Field Full/Half Marathon Sunday. I was really excited about it when I first got here. I kind of feel that the best foot races are the ones that suck the most. Anyone who enjoys running those distances is just a loon. When I run long distances, I'm trying to see if I can push my body through another extremely sucky episode. While I do actually enjoy most of the race, the misery of the last few miles more than makes up for any joy I get out of the first 20 miles. So, after hearing about the Kandahar marathon I thought, "Wow, I just can't imagine too much that could be suckier than running 26.2 miles in southern Afghanistan." Its generally hot and dusty except for the few occasions where the monsoon turns the place into a huge mud pit. If the dust doesn't get to you, the exhaust fumes from the hundreds of humvees, MRAPs, and Pakistani jingle trucks is guaranteed to drive up the suck factor. On top of that, there's guaranteed to be no throngs of spectators cheering you through the finish as in the more popular marathons. You're guaranteed a considerable amount of time with just you and a dusty Afghan road. So, to cut a long story short, I started prepping for it.
My training went very well for the first 6 weeks or so and then it started falling apart. Late night responses, homework, and work issues were pretty much taking up the little training time I had available. So, I signed up for the half marathon instead and stopped training. I was set on this option all the way up through the night before the race when I started wondering if I could finish the full marathon. The morning of the race, I decided that I would pace myself and see how I was holding up during the half. About a mile before reaching the half marathon finish line, I decided to go with the full marathon. Everyone who knew I had signed up for the half marathon looked at me kind of funny when I continued past the finish line. I was actually pretty happy about my 4:24 finish time considering the lack of training and the last minute decision to run the whole race.
Me and a few of the guys before the race. #33, Mike Bunting is a marathon maniac. He finished in a blazing 2:51 even having taken a half-mile detour during the race. He's set to run Boston when he gets home this month.
Despite the challenges, I'll have to say that this turned out to be one of the more interesting races I've run. While running, I was entertained by the rattle of Blackhawks and Chinooks, the rumble of Tornadoes taking off with full afterburner, and even a couple Russion-era heavy cargo planes landing. I nearly got ran over by a British convoy driver who apparently felt that his task at hand was more important than my little race. This little Explosives Ordinance Disposal robot was even handing out water bottles to the runners. In the end, I was just thankful that no rocket attacks forced us to take cover during the race.
My training went very well for the first 6 weeks or so and then it started falling apart. Late night responses, homework, and work issues were pretty much taking up the little training time I had available. So, I signed up for the half marathon instead and stopped training. I was set on this option all the way up through the night before the race when I started wondering if I could finish the full marathon. The morning of the race, I decided that I would pace myself and see how I was holding up during the half. About a mile before reaching the half marathon finish line, I decided to go with the full marathon. Everyone who knew I had signed up for the half marathon looked at me kind of funny when I continued past the finish line. I was actually pretty happy about my 4:24 finish time considering the lack of training and the last minute decision to run the whole race.
Me and a few of the guys before the race. #33, Mike Bunting is a marathon maniac. He finished in a blazing 2:51 even having taken a half-mile detour during the race. He's set to run Boston when he gets home this month.
Despite the challenges, I'll have to say that this turned out to be one of the more interesting races I've run. While running, I was entertained by the rattle of Blackhawks and Chinooks, the rumble of Tornadoes taking off with full afterburner, and even a couple Russion-era heavy cargo planes landing. I nearly got ran over by a British convoy driver who apparently felt that his task at hand was more important than my little race. This little Explosives Ordinance Disposal robot was even handing out water bottles to the runners. In the end, I was just thankful that no rocket attacks forced us to take cover during the race.
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