JBLE tries-out for Army Ten-Miler

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Story by Senior Airman Delaney Gonzales
633rd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

More than 25 service members tried-out for the 2019 Army Ten-Miler competition June 28 in front of Anderson Field House at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.

The Army Ten-Miler was established in 1985 and will be celebrating its 35th anniversary during this year’s competition in Washington D.C., Oct. 13.

Service members are eligible to compete in a variety of Team Divisions to include the Active-Duty Men’s Team (29 teams competed last year), the Active-Duty Women’s Team (14 teams competed last year) and the Mixed Team Division (57 teams competed last year).

“Last year, JBLE competed in the Active-Duty Mixed Team Division and was 14 out of 57 teams and will be competing in this division again this year in 2019,” said Kacey Gibson, a master resilience trainer- performance expert with the Fort Eustis Ready and Resilient Performance Center.

The final time for JBLE’s team for 2018 was 4 hours, 35 minutes, 44 seconds.

For the try-out, members completed a 6.5-mile course and eight members were selected for the team.

“Six males and two females will represent JBLE,” Gibson said. “A final tryout will be in August for those who could not make it today.”

The top two finishers that completed the 6.5 mile course were:

Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Smicker in 39:51
Capt. Kevin Bennett in 39:53

“We are meeting to make plans for training for the race, which is roughly 15 weeks away,” Gibson added. “Tentatively, we plan on meeting one to two times per week for workouts in preparation for the race, but the participants have the opportunity to follow a full training schedule if they would like to.”

Training for the race supports the Army’s fitness goals for its Soldiers, benefiting the JBLE’s team members.

“Training for the ten-miler takes a lot of discipline, dedicationand hard work,” Gibson said. “Training and competing in the race provides the perfect framework to showcase all of these characteristics.”

Gibson is looking forward to training with her runners to prepare for the race.

“I am extremely excited to coach this year’s JBLE Army Ten-Miler Team,” Gibson concluded. “I have been a runner the majority of my life and love spreading the joy of running to other people. I have worked with many of the runners who have made the team before and I am excited to keep working with them in this capacity.”


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