Twelve U.S. Army, Europe Soldiers represented USAREUR as part of two running teams in the 2010 Army Ten-Miler, held Oct. 24 in Washington, D.C.
The USAREUR men’s team finished with a time of 3:42.09, getting second place in a field of 40 teams from across the Army. The USAREUR mixed team finished with a time of 4:41.25, placing 14th out of 46 mixed teams.
The annual race, which starts and ends at the Pentagon, takes runners past the major Washington, D.C., landmarks, such as the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials, the Washington Monument, the Kennedy Center and the Capitol Building.
But many of the runners were concentrating so intently on the race that they didn’t see much of the monuments.
“You’ve got to be able to focus on what you’re doing when you’re running up front,” said Maj. Keith Matiskella, assigned to the Joint Multinational Training Command in Grafenwöhr. Matiskella was indeed running up front, finishing 20th overall with a time of 51:28.
Sgt. Katherine O’Dell, assigned to Headquarters, USAREUR, didn’t see many of the monuments either, partly because of her focus and partly because of the large number of runners in the race.
“It was great to see so many people together, but it was kind of tough to find room to run,” O’Dell said.
According to race organizers, the 30,000 registered runners made the 26th annual race the second-largest 10-mile race in the United States and the third-largest in the world.
The size of the race wasn’t the only thing that impressed O’Dell. She said she was proud to participate in the race, and was especially humbled to run with competitors who had lost their legs and with runners carrying photos of fallen Soldiers.
“This is a good way to honor people who have made sacrifices in war,” O’Dell said.
Matiskella, who first ran this race in 1997 and has competed nearly every year since, does so in part because it gives him a chance to catch up with people he has served with during his Army career.
“We’re a big family here in the Army,” Matiskella said. “Once you’ve served with someone, you remember them.”
For more information and complete results, visit the event’s website, www.armytenmiler.com.
Individual results
Men’s Team
Maj. Keith E. Matiskella, Joint Multinational Training Command: 20th overall, 3rd in division, 51:28
Maj. Daniel E. Welsh, 172nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team: 55th overall, 11th in division, 55:30
Capt. Kyle A. Greenberg, U.S. Army Garrison Garmisch: 52nd overall, 20th in division, 55:16
1st Lt. Bradley W. Glosser, 12th Combat Aviation Brigade: 172nd overall, 25th in division, 59:55
1st Sgt. Walter L. Johnston, USAREUR Band: 312th overall, 25th in division, 1:02.50
Sgt. John J. Baeza, Bavaria Dental Activity: 607th overall, 126th in division, 1:06.32
Mixed Team
Capt. Myra Galusha, 3-158th Aviation Regiment: 375th overall, 8th in division, 1:03.45
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Edgardo D. Academia, 7th Signal Brigade: 575th overall, 45th in division, 1:06.15
Staff Sgt. Alicia L. Anderson, 7th Army NCO Academy: 1,760th overall, 71st in division, 1:13.41
Spc. Kattie L. Lucido, Headquarters, V Corps: 7,186th overall, 428th in division, 1:28.46
Sgt. Katherine E. O’Dell, Headquarters, USAREUR: 2,798th overall, 46th in division, 1:17.44
Spc. Ekaterina I. Volsky, Headquarters, USAREUR: 4,015th overall, 201st in division, 1:21.22