COMMENTARY>>41st AS captain takes 2nd at Marine Corps Marathon

By Arlo Taylor
19th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

While some Air Force people begrudgingly plod out their required 1.5 mile fitness test run, one Little Rock Air Force Base captain ran the equivalent of more than 17 fitness tests on his day off when he completed the Marine Corps Marathon Oct. 25 in Washington, D.C.

Capt. Jacob Johnson, a 41st Airlift Squadron pilot, took second place among the race’s 21,405 finishers -- both highest and fastest performances in his seven years of marathon racing.

“I was surprised that I finished second. I thought some other guys would beat me; however, I had trained to run 2:25, and that’s what I ran, so that didn’t surprise me,” he said. “I started running marathons about seven years ago because I realized I wasn’t fast enough to really compete in a 5K or 10K, and I was looking for a new challenge.”

Running a marathon is not unlike flying a C-130 - training and planning are essential, he said.

“To me, the key to running successful marathons is training hard and smart (don’t overdo it), and to have a solid, realistic race strategy that you stick to on race day,” Captain Johnson said. “It’s very easy to get carried away in a marathon and run the first half way too fast and then hit the proverbial ‘wall.’ It’s also important to have a hydration plan in a marathon; you have to take in some fluids and some carbohydrates as you go, or you could be in trouble when mile 20 rolls around.”

“To prepare to race a marathon, you have to put in a lot of miles, and you need to be sure you get a lot of marathon-pace training accomplished to get your body used to running the pace you want it to run when you are tired. Once the training is done, you need to get some rest and trust that your training was adequate,” he said.

While running marathons isn’t for everyone, running 1.5 miles is something every Air Force member must do to pass their fitness tests. Captain Johnson offered simple advice to those looking to maximize their run times.

“My advice is pretty simple in theory, but not so much in execution. You simply need to run more! Don’t just settle for going out and running a mile and a half a few times a week; work to get yourself to the point where it’s easy to go out and run three or four miles or more. If you can do that, the PT test is a piece of cake,” he said.

For those looking to add distance to their runs, Captain Johnson said the secret isn’t in sports drinks, power bars and or latest gizmos and gadgets to set a blistering pace, it’s avoiding blistering feet.

“For those looking to go to the next level of distance running, the most important piece of advice I can give is to be sure you have a good pair of running shoes. Don’t buy the cheapest pair of shoes; go get fit at a running store,” he said. “Secondly, you have to stick with it. You can’t become a better runner overnight. Give yourself several weeks to improve and let your body adjust to the extra mileage and build it up slowly, adding no more than 10 percent to your weekly mileage total every week as a good rule of thumb.”