SPORTS >>11-09-07

Air Force Major participates in Army Ten-Miler

By Staff Sgt. Juan A. Torres
314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

Running came naturally to Deborah Dusek when she began running at age 12, and soon it would become a major pastime for the 314th Communications Squadron commander.

Maj. Dusek’s passion took her from cross-country running in high school to participating in the prestigious Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C., Oct. 7.

The Army Ten-Miler is America’s largest 10-mile road race, second largest in the world, and the Army’s premier running event. But getting into the run was a bit of a challenge.

Registration for the race filled up in less than 46 hours, before Dusek was able to join. But fate would turn for the one-time Bataan Memorial Death March participant when at the last minute she was able to get a registration transfer from a participant who would not be able to attend the race. When Dusek first received word that she was going to run at the end of August she began preparing with pyramid training.

“Normally I would run six to seven miles a day,” said Dusek, “but with the pyramid training I began adding an extra mile every week and then as I got closer to the run, I cut back on my running and began biking and swimming more to lessen the impact on my knee.”

More than 17,500 people from around the world – including many different civilian, military and international teams – participated in the Army Ten-Miler.

Many military teams wore team shirts with the names of fellow soldiers to whom their participation was dedicated. Dusek also saw many disabled vets participating as well.

“One of the veterans I saw had lost both legs and was still participating with the use of prosthetics,” she said. “His dedication was motivation for all of us who ran.”

David Rozelle, an Army major who lost his right foot to an anti-tank mine in Iraq in June 2003, was one of those veterans.
This run gave amputees recovering in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other centers something to look forward to during their months of rehabilitation, he said. “We’re running to show America that we aren’t beaten.”

Dusek also said the spectators who lined the streets all along the course were also huge motivators to completing the race.
“I remember an Army member screaming ‘Alright lady in pink, you got a quarter of a mile left, keep going!’” she said smiling. That added encouragement helped Dusek finish the race 8,230 overall, 418th in her category, with a time of 1:37.
(Lynne Bermel, RunnersWeb.com, contributed to this story)