Quick feet sprint two Aviano Airmen into AF marathon

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Justin Weaver
  • 31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Two Aviano Airmen have been selected to represent USAFE in the twelfth annual United States Air Force Marathon and half marathon taking place Sept. 20 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.

Staff Sgt. Joseph Carter and Senior Airmen Guadalupe Vasquez, both from the 31st Communications Squadron, were surprised to find out they had been selected for the full and half marathon.

"I wasn't expecting to run the Air Force marathon but was quite pleased by my selection as this will be the first marathon I have ever run in the states and the seventh I've run this year," said Carter, who will be representing USAFE in the 30-34 year old category during the 26.2 mile marathon.

Carter first got into running when he arrived at Aviano in the summer of 2006 in hopes to improve his 1.5-mile run time.

"Three months later, I received a 95 percent on my fitness test and shaved about six inches off my abdominal circumference," said Carter, who has been hooked on running ever since. "The first marathon I ran was later that year in Venice. Even though I had never run more than five miles, I wanted to give it a try."

With a philosophy of "One life, one body," Carter pushes himself to be better and faster every day. He finished the Venice marathon in five hours, seven minutes, but has since improved his time to three hours, 56 minutes.

"There has not been one week that has gone by that I have not done something contributing to my overall fitness," Carter said. "Currently I run to and from work, about 10 miles roundtrip. I always try doing at least one long run a week in the neighborhood of 13 to 20 miles to maintain the endurance necessary to get through the end of a marathon."

Thanks to Sergeant Carter's quick feet, running has given him the chance to see Europe.
"Running has provided me the amazing opportunity to travel to some major European cities and run in some major marathon events that I would not have been able to do without hard work and training," said Carter.

The Air Force marathon will be Carter's 10th career marathon since the fall of 2006. The following weekend, Carter will compete in the Berlin Marathon.

"I am truly proud to not only represent Aviano and USAFE, but also knowing that the only two marathon selections for Aviano were both from the 31st Communications Squadron," said Carter.

While Carter presses for a personal best in the Air Force marathon, Guadalupe Vasquez will be sprinting for first in the Air Force half marathon.

"I've been training for the USAFE Cross Country championship, but I figured if I could run the half marathon at the pace I want, then I will be able to run the 10k with no problems," said Vasquez. "I usually train 5-6 days a week and run about 7-9 miles at a seven-minute pace or faster."

This will be Vasquez's first half marathon, but running is something he's always enjoyed.

"I've always liked running since I was a little kid, but once I got into high school, I decided to take it seriously," the 23-year-old secure network system technician said.

Vasquez has placed first in several Aviano 5k monthly runs with an impressive five-minute 40-second mile average. In the next few years, Vasquez hopes to be fast enough to run in the Olympic trials.

The USAF Marathon is held in September to commemorate the founding of the Air Force as a separate military service on Sept. 18, 1947.