Danny Ponder
The Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio, has been held for 17 consecutive years, and Tinker’s Danny Ponder has run every one of them. He plans to compete in this year’s event, too.
So does Lt. Col. Bill McTernan, who, along with his wife, Suzanne, has participated in the marathon before. Another Tinker Airman training for the Sept. 20 long-distance run is Tech. Sgt. Anthony L. Burch.
“I ran in college” at the University of New Mexico and Missouri State University, and have been running continuously since then, Colonel McTernan said.
He said he and his wife also plan to run in the 26.2-mile Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 27. In addition, their 16-year-old son, Nate, became a runner seven years ago, at the age of 9, and has completed three half-marathons and is a runner for Carl Albert High School.
Colonel McTernan, assistant director of operations for the 552nd Operations Support Squadron, said he begins training for the Air Force Marathon “at about 20 weeks out.” Typically he’ll run three or four 20-mile routes to build up stamina. Sometimes, the colonel said, he’ll run with Mr. Ponder along roads that lead to Lake Thunderbird near Norman. “Those rolling hills give a better workout,” the colonel said.
Mr. Ponder’s training regimen is brutal. “I do quite a few events every year,” he said — and marathons apparently are the easiest of the lot.
For example, he ran the 100 kilometer (62-mile) USA Trail Championship in Bandera, Texas, on Jan. 11.
Next, he plans to travel to Huntsville, in East Texas, for the Rocky Raccoon 100-mile endurance run the weekend of Feb. 1-2. He and his wife will leave home the morning of Friday, Jan. 31, and drive to Huntsville. Beginning at 6 a.m. Feb. 1 Mr. Ponder will spend literally all day running the race. After a short respite, the couple will return to Oklahoma on Feb. 2, and Mr. Ponder will be back at his job at Tinker, as a logistics manager with the Saudi AWACS program, on Monday morning, Feb. 3.
Also, Mr. Ponder was chosen to participate in the Western States Endurance Run in California in late June. That race extends from Squaw Valley Olympic Village to Auburn 100 miles away. The Western States Trail ascends from the Squaw Valley floor (elevation 6,200 feet) to Emigrant Pass (elevation 8,750 feet), a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first four and a half miles. From the pass, following the original trails used by the gold and silver miners of the 1850s, runners travel west, climbing another 15,540 feet and descending 22,970 feet before reaching Auburn.
“It takes just under 24 hours to complete the race,” said Mr. Ponder, who recently turned 55. Aid stations are established every five to six miles. “They’ve got candy, chips, water, soft drinks, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” he said. “You burn some calories on that route, that’s for sure.”
Sergeant Burch, 34, said he’s been a runner “off and on my entire career,” but the event in Ohio will be his first marathon. “I’ve done a few 5k and 10k runs, and I’m going to do the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, but for that I’m only doing the half-marathon.”
The sergeant, a KC-135 equipment specialist in the AFLCMC’s Tanker Legacy Division, said he’s been training for the Air Force Marathon since last October. “My training plan is running outside three times a week; like the postman, I do it during rain, snow, sleet or shine. Additionally, twice a week I do elliptical training at the base gym for 30 minutes to an hour.”
The first official Air Force Marathon was held on Sept. 20, 1997, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Air Force. All levels of runners participate from around the world. Registration in last year’s marathon was limited to 15,000 runners across all four events (full marathon, half marathon, 10k and 5k).The 26.2-mile course traverses historical places at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The marathon is certified by the U.S.A. Track and Field Association.