LINCOLN, Neb. – The origins of the present-day Marathon, the mythical and grueling 26.2-mile foot race, stems from Soldiers persevering on the field of combat, where Persian invaders were defeated in the Battle of Marathon by the Athenian Army in 490 B.C.E. In proclaiming the dramatic victory, Pheidippides, a Greek messenger, dutifully ran the 25 miles to an assembly in Athens and delivered the triumphant news of valor, before he collapsed and died. Historians and scholars have long debated the certainty, but the legend of Pheidippides and his fabled run still endures, in both courage and conviction.

In the pre-dawn hours of May 7, 2023, an imposing field of runners arrived at the campus of the University of Nebraska – just adjacent to Memorial Stadium, the renowned home of the five-time national football champions ‘Cornhuskers.’ For more than 200 competitors, coming from 54 states and U.S. territories, a chance to compete for a sought-after spot on the National Guard All-Marathon team.

Standing at the starting line for these Citizen-Soldiers, the moment represents months of preparation. They had expectations of this race during the countless hours of training, amidst the challenging weather conditions, and setbacks with injuries – all the while, balancing their workouts between full-time jobs, home life, and military obligations. The anticipation for the race to begin only served to prolong the anxiety for most – where eagerness and self-doubt can oftentimes be more trying than the race itself.

When the ‘Cannon’ fired at 7:00 a.m., the collective field of runners was at last released, off to conquer the distance and hours in front of them. Four runners from the Oregon Army National Guard were among the mix, and for Captains Amy Mireles and Kevin Jung, this was their first marathon. They were joined by Lt. Col. Billie Cartwright and Sgt. 1st Class Louisa Brock.

“I am excited about this team and knowing that we’re taking the initial steps towards rebuilding the Oregon National Guard Marathon team,” said Lt. Col. Cartwright, a Physician Assistant with the 82nd Brigade, and also serves as the state coordinator for the marathon team. “There is no lie when it comes to race day, this is an event where you have to do the work months in advance.”

While Cartwright has entered the Half Marathon (13.1 miles), returning to run at Lincoln has been a long process. Responsibilities with work, training burnout, and injuries with surgical operations had limited her running for the past several years.

“I feel like I am back from the dead,” she said, excited about her 1:51:21 time while wearing her finisher medal, yet waiting for other Oregon runners to complete their race.

“As the State Coordinate for the Oregon National Guard, I felt like I needed to come back and help lead this team, even if it meant doing the half marathon,” she said, describing her approach to the race day. “I completed two marathons here and made the All-Guard team one year, but dropped out one year in the later miles with an injury – I am so glad just to have our [Oregon] team here this year and be part of this experience.”

The Lincoln Marathon first became a showcase event for the “All Guard” team for distance runners in 1984, with the exception of the cancelation of the 2020 race due to the initial peak phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the program enhances the National Guard’s recruitment and retention programs by promoting physical fitness goals, it was apparent thought-out the weekend of events, that a natural esprit de corps was present among the competitors.

Guard members arrived two days before the race and took part in the Lincoln Marathon Expo and attended briefings on recruitment and the H2F program, which focuses on reducing injuries, increasing performance, and retaining healthy soldiers. The evening before the race, runners gather for the annual roll call where each state and territorial team introduced their team with interesting historical facts, blended in with jokes and trivia.

“Coming to this race, I really wanted to be an advocated for others to do the same, to come here and try out for the team,” said Jung, who serves as the Holistic Health and Fitness Coordinator for the Oregon National Guard. “The H2F program is designed for Soldier Readiness – which includes the five domains of physical, mental, spiritual, sleep, and nutritional readiness. I highly commend the entire experience to anyone interested.”

The nine-month journey that put him on the starting line would be called into action. Putting together these five H2F factors would be put to the test on race day, and soon, Jung would soon experience the highs and lows that encompass long-distance running during his initial marathon.

“Waking up on race day, I was groggy – the night before I was nervous, and couldn’t sleep much,” he said. “I was glad that I took some of the advice from Lieutenant Colonel Cartwright, especially about the later stages of the race course because around the 22 to the 23-mile mark, I hit ‘The Wall’… that most marathoners’ are prone to experience. It was both a physical and mental challenge to push through.”

Though his pace slowed in the later stages, he recalled, “feeling my energy drop” as the temperatures quickly climb into the 80s. He crossed the finish line at 3:36:31, garnering an 80th-place finish among National Guard runners.

“I am ready for the next race, just not right away,” Jung laughed, reflecting on the experience, while munching on post-race snacks. “But this is exactly what we want for our soldiers, to be the best vision of themselves.”

While Jung was feeling the euphoria of completing his first marathon, Capt. Amy Mireles, a liaison officer with the 10th Homeland Response Force, was nearing the finish, and writing her own ‘first marathon’ story’. With an education background in Exercise Physiology, she put together a training plan in just four months based on research and relying on past preparations for other middle-distance racing events.

“In 2018 and 2019 I had wanted to run the Army 10-Miler in Washington D.C. but conflicts and then Covid kept me from running those years,” she said. “The nutrition aspect was a big part of my training and I give a lot of credit for building that fuel base and watching my hydration to avoid ‘hitting the wall.’”

When she did start to feel her energy shift after the mid-point in the race, she said that the mental boost came from “trusting in the training.”

“It started with callouses on my feet when I was about 15 miles in, then during that 18 to 20-mile point, I really needed to concentrate getting to the last turn-around point, that would begin the route back to the finish downtown, Mireles said, detailing the struggles in the final hour of running. “From there it was one mile at a time – staying hydrated and listening to my body.”

With a mile to go, her mood and energy shift. “Almost immediately, when I saw that I was at the 25-mile mark, I remember thinking, “You can do it,” as I knew I could finish the race.”

With an official time of 4:02:28, Mireles finished in 20th place among female guard members, capturing a spot on the All-Guard Marathon Team.

“In some ways, it’s hard to believe I could qualify for this team running my first marathon,” she said. “But I am also excited about building our Oregon team and running in some local events with others who might want to join too, there’s a lot of camaraderie here.”

That sense of solidarity was one of the key reasons why Sgt. 1st Class Louisa Brock, an Aviation Operations Specialist, returned to Lincoln to participate again. She ran her first full National Guard Marathon in 2008 and competed in two half-marathons.

“The self-disciple and sense of accomplishment that comes from the hours and miles of training was something I had missed, especially after taking a break from running over the past few years,” she said, reflecting on the deeper symbolism of the race. “It wasn’t at all about my finish time (4:52:06), it was exciting once again to feel this sparked sense of nostalgia, and for being able to run here [in Lincoln] one more time.”

This sense of identity in the running community that Brock rekindled is special to runners. It’s what journalist Christopher McDougall, proclaims in his book “Born to Run,” that ‘running is the heart of what it means to be human.’

“The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other but to be with each other,” McDougall writes.

In constructing a 15-week training plan, Brock used a Nike Running Club app to prepare for the race. As a traditional member of the National Guard, she could adjust workouts around her ‘two-job’ schedule.

“I was wondering how Lieutenant Colonel Cartwright picked this year’s team,” Brock said. “There was a sense of finding runners of various abilities, but finding individuals really committed to being runners first and foremost.”

“I just want to grow the team back to where it was,” Cartwright said, remarking on the past accomplishments of the squads coming to Lincoln to compete. “Oregon used to be such a big representation of running in the National Guard, and I am hoping with two brand new marathoners we got, and with runners like Sergeant Brock, who still demonstrate a love of the sport, we can recruit more members to the team.”

With the first steps taken in re-building the Oregon National Guard Marathon Team, there is still more work to be done with recruiting additional runners – both with performance and passion for the sport. Yet it was hard to brush off the enthusiasm from the four Oregon runners, especially after watching Cartwright whole-heartedly embrace Brock in the finishers area.

“I just recently learned, the Oregon team won 4 team tiles and 7 individual titles,” said Mireles, reflecting on past state accomplishments. “We’ve been ‘M.I.A.’ and have not sent a team or representative in the past 7-8 years. Now, knowing the history of our team, I like to think of this year’s Oregon National Guard team as “reviving the legacy,” and using that motto moving forward.”