As the Air Force Marathon volunteers and participants began to arrive in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, off in the distance, a passing weather front flashed lightning, threatening to dampen the day's events.
It turns out that the only lightning present was two F-35 Lightning II aircraft roaring by to officially start the 28th Annual Air Force Marathon.
At the end of the day, the Air Force Marathon-a Boston Marathon qualifier, drew 7,600 runners from all 50 states and 18 foreign countries to compete in the numerous events on Marathon weekend.
"We had a great turnout this year, and I'm proud of the entire team involved for making it happen," said Christopher Meister, Air Force Marathon director. "We were a little concerned with the heat today but made some adjustments, and we executed successfully."
Races in several distance categories took place on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, grounds of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force and Wright State University.
"I feel good, and it was a great run. The weather was good and the support on the course was amazing," said Col. Dustin Richards, 88th Air Base Wing commander.
The men's winner conquered the field in his third attempt here.
Nathan Brown, a security forces staff sergeant from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., said he had a lot of fun and didn't expect to run as fast during his third marathon here.
"The last three months I've been doing a lot of trail running," Brown said. "I was really surprised I was able to run that fast, this is the first one I have won. My fastest time was 2:31:00, and I'll take a 2:36:57."
The women's champion has a military tie.
With a time of 3:13:30, Maj. Adrianna Dong, an E-11 instructor pilot from Robins AFB, Ga, took home the honors.
"It was pretty cool running today because of all the service members who ran," she said. "I'm a member of Team Raptor of the Air Force Marathon team.
She said it felt good crossing the finish line, and the support from cheerleaders along the route was a big help.
"It's cool, the first race I've won was the Air Force Marathon," she said. "I actually hurt myself three weeks ago, and my coach had me come up with three mantras: have fun, listen to my body, and stay relaxed."
A production of this magnitude can't happen unless a support mechanism is in place.
"We could not have pulled off this event without our volunteers and sponsors," Meister added. "I want to send a big thank you to the 1,200 volunteers for all the amazing work they did behind the scenes and in the spotlight to make this a successful running day."
Richards echoed Meister's sentiments about the volunteers.
"The volunteers who came out to support this race were amazing and inspiring," he said. "They are the people that make it happen. I want to thank all the people who came out to enable such a great race."
Here are the results:
MEN'S FULL MARATHON
1st: Nathan Brown 2:36:57
2nd: William Burns 2:39:58
3rd: Aidan Boyle 2:40:20
WOMEN'S FULL MARATHON
1st: Adrianna Dong 3:13:30
2nd: Bridget McCormack 3:25:42
3rd: Kathryn Kephart 3:30:34
MEN'S HALF-MARATHON
1st: Ryan Johnson 1:07:08
2nd: Bret Greene 1:13:39
3rd: Jacob Derry 1:16:13
WOMEN'S HALF-MARATHON
1st: Kayla Regulski 1:22:26
2nd: Emily Shertzer 1:24:13
3rd: Ellie Tighe 1:28:48
MEN'S 10K
1st: Brett Lechtenberg 34:32
2nd: Kayman Mays 35:46
3rd: Adam Klauck 36:36
WOMEN'S 10K
1st: Elizabeth Rodriguez 41:28
2nd: Sarah Bergmann 43:41
3rd: Meghan Pryatel 44:17
MEN'S 5K
1st: Brett Lechtenberg 16:35
2nd: Dominic Buschelman 16:56
3rd: Michael Cole 16:56
WOMEN'S 5K
1st: Elizabeth Rodriguez 19:25
2nd: Becky Thompson 20:16
3rd: Megan Edmonds 22:03
MEN'S WHEELED HAND-CRANK FULL MARATHON
1st: Casey Falkner 01:12:15
2nd: Steve Chapman 01:12:22
3rd: Yoshinori Tomoyasu 01:31:00
WOMEN'S WHEELED HAND-CRANK FULL MARATHON
1st: Holly Koester 02:02:14
2nd: Jennifer Hogan 02:59:17
MEN'S WHEELED PUSH-RIM FULL MARATHON
1st: Josh Sommers 02:51:41
Go to www.usafmarathon.com to view a full list of results, official times, and more information on the event.
More imagery will be available in the coming days at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/88ABW or https://www.flickr.com/photos/wrightpattafb/.
