Earning a spot on the team: Dover athlete chosen to run the 2009 AF Marathon

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Shen-Chia Chu
  • 436th AW Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Two Dover Airmen were selected to participate in the 13th Annual U.S. Air Force Marathon Sept. 19 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. 

2nd Lt. Abigail Wise, 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs chief of internal information, was chosen by Air Mobility Command as a primary team member, and Master Sgt. Marshall Stafford, 436th Communications Squadron NCO in charge of Information Assurance, was selected as an alternate team member. 

"I am honored to be chosen and I hope that I can live up to the team's expectations, representing AMC and Team Dover," said Lieutenant Wise, who will be participating in the 20 to 24 age category. "I was surprised when I found out I made the team." 

The lieutenant had already run one marathon completing the 2006 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., finishing the race in four hours and five minutes. Running a marathon was always a goal, but the lieutenant is focusing on a harder goal now. 

"I want to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but I will need to run the Air Force Marathon in three hours and 45 minutes," she said. 

Lieutenant Wise has built a steady and gradual plan that will help her train, running a weekly average of 16 miles a week and building up to run 32 miles a week.

"I'm really looking forward to the race and competing against the other major commands," she said. 

If one of the primary team members is unable to participate, Sergeant Stafford will be one of six members to run as the alternate for the event, in the 35 to 39 age category. 

Though this is the sergeant's second time running the Air Force Marathon, his passion for running began more than six years ago. 

The sergeant ran on the AMC Team for the U.S. Air Force Marathon two years ago, finishing with a time of three hours, 29 minutes and three seconds. 

"I started out being overweight for my height and I couldn't even run more than 20 minutes," said the sergeant, who decided to take action and live a healthy lifestyle. 

"Over the next six months, I lost weight by running and changing my diet, and I really started to enjoy running," said Sergeant Stafford. 

He said he began racing because his co-worker asked him to run a half marathon. 

"With the limited training I had with a half marathon race, I felt that I could try to run a marathon because not everyone chooses to do it," he said. "Now, I try to run a marathon once a year and it gets easier over time." 

The sergeant wakes up at 5 a.m. on the weekends to build up his mileage and runs four times a week. 

But being a marathon runner isn't easy, he said.

"Running a marathon is like anything else in life - you set a goal and make sacrifices to obtain your goal," said Sergeant Stafford.