Running Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller
Date: September 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009
Beginning in 1997, the United States Air Force annually holds a marathon and half marathon in September. The course begins and ends at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The course takes runners throughout the base and through Fairborn. The first and third year I was part of a four-person 26.2-mile relay team. In 1997, I ran the 8.2-mile leg along for a team consisting of Tom Spence, a blind runner and a lady recovering from a heart attack. In 1999, I ran the 5.1-mile leg as part of the Moraine Police Division team. In 2004, our four-person team was me, Rosie, neighbor Becky Weinel and someone else. I have run the 13.1-mile half marathon three times. I always tried to break two hours and it is always exciting to finish the race as you run the last 100 yards with vintage or WWII airplanes on each side of you down a narrow chute to the finish line. Several years stealth bombers would fly overhead to begin the race. Volunteers and AF staff would man the water stations. One year at the three-mile water station, several volunteers were wearing alien masks and costumes to poke fun at the Hanger 18 UFO legend.
