Air Commandos represent at Air Force Marathon Published Oct. 2, 2009 By Maj. Erin Dick 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Nearly 10,000 runners lined up at the starting line of the 2009 Air Force Marathon held Sept. 19 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Among them were several runners from Hurlburt Field. Forming a Hurlburt Team to participate in the Air Force Marathon was the brainchild of 2nd Lt. Kendra Tullson, 1st Special Operations Communications Squadron. "I was planning on going to the Air Force Marathon anyway, so I wanted to see if there were other people who wanted to go," Lieutenant Tullson said. "It's always easier to train as a group, and logistically, it would be easier to participate as a group. Among the Hurlburt Field runners was 1st Special Operations Wing Commander, Col. Greg Lengyel, who was running his second marathon. He participated in his first marathon in 1998. "Eleven years makes a big difference, and my first marathon was in Albuquerque, N.M. where it's dry," Colonel Lengyel said. "It was extremely difficult to train in Florida in the summertime where the heat and humidity takes a real toll." According to Lieutenant Tullson, everyone trains for a marathon in his or her own way. Like Colonel Lengyel, Lieutenant Tullson downloaded a training plan off the internet to help her get ready for the big race. "You can get good training plans online, and the key is just to follow that plan as closely as you can so you make sure you're running enough to be in shape while not over doing it," Lieutenant Tullson said. "There are several training plans available, and they'll all work, you just have to pick one and stick with it. "Some people like to have a training partner for motivation and accountability," Lieutenant Tullson said. "It also makes it more fun to have someone to talk to because the longer runs can get boring." Colonel Lengyel's training partner was Col. Mark Johnson, 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group commander, and he was a major key to his training successes. "Sometimes we would get up at 4:30 a.m. for 20 mile training runs that would last up to three hours," Colonel Lengyel said. "There were a lot of days I would have rolled back over and gone to sleep if I didn't know that Colonel Johnson was waiting in the road for me to show up for the run." Colonel Lengyel and Colonel Johnson began their formal marathon training in May, and it lasted for four months, consisting of at least five run days a week, sometimes more. "You have to run fairly regularly before you start the formal marathon training program," Colonel Lengyel said. Everyone has his or her own personal reason for taking up a challenge as huge as running a marathon. For Lieutenant Tullson, it was just to do something different. "I enjoy running, and I tried doing a triathlon and didn't care for it too much," she said. "I enjoy longer runs, so I thought I'd see how I liked it. It's a good way to get in shape and have fun." "It's very satisfying to set a goal and achieve it," Colonel Lengyel said. "It gives you something to work towards." The other Air Force Marathon participants from Hurlburt Field were: Maj. Philip Curwen (marathon) Capt. Sean Lillis (marathon) Chief Master Sgt. John Writer (marathon) 2 Lt. Chris Vineski (10K) 2 Lt. Jamie Vineski (10K) Staff Sgt Michael Brown (half marathon) Staff Sgt Anthony Cardenas (half marathon) Airman 1st Class Jessica Richards (marathon) Airman Chris Wright (half marathon) Airman Jeremiah Murphy (marathon)