FAIRBORN — Attendees and participants gathered from across the country and around the globe Saturday for the 19th running of the United States Air Force Marathon, which began and ended at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and traversed throughout the local area, including the City of Fairborn.
The five races — a 5K, 10K, half and full marathon — sold out for the fifth time and included more than 15,000 registered runners and more than 2,500 volunteers. Col. John Devillier, 88th Air Base Wing and installation commander of WPAFB, said this is the second marathon he has overseen. Although he did not participate in the races this year, he still trained as if he planned to, as his daughter ran the 5K and his wife ran the half-marathon.
“Different people run these things for different reasons, some do it for health reasons, some do it as a goal — what we want them (participants) to do is have a quality experience that represents the United State Air Force well,” Devillier said. “We’re excited to partner with local communities for this event; it’s a great event.”
Devillier feels that the event serves as a showcase of the impact the area had on the Air Force and aviation industry, noting the Wright Brothers powered flight, and Huffman Prairie, which was included as an area runners had to race by during the event.
“This is symbolic of the great relationship we have with the community here in the Dayton area and Miami Valley,” he said. “This is really a community event — it may say ‘Air Force’ marathon, but it’s beyond that when you look at all the sponsors we have … We have great support from the city of Fairborn, Beavercreek, Riverside — it is a true community event.”
Whitney Vickers can be reached by calling her directly at 937-502-4532, or by following her on Twitter by searching for @wnvickers. For more content online, visit our website at fairborndailyherald.com, or like our page on Facebook.
MORE MARATHON PHOTOS ON PAGE 8
