Peachtree in Afghanistan

Participants lined up at the start of the race (Photo taken by one of our civilian contractors)

In my short time here with the Marines and Sailors of 1/9 I have been looking for something that would really spark their interest. We planned a Superbowl party this past February with limited attendance, despite offering alcohol (and designated drivers and a duty van). We get little to no interest in other activities we plan to take their minds off the job and give them a bit of a break from the grind of being Marines. Until yesterday. There are about 400 or so Marines, Sailors and civilians on our FOB. We had 100 register to run the Peachtree Road Race yesterday morning. Who would have guessed that the best attended event of the chaplain would be a 6.8 mile (our loop didn’t permit the normal 10k distance) run, at 0530, in the heat of July, in Afghanistan. It amazes me that the guys turned out in such numbers for a race. I was completely surprised. It must have been the idea that for an hour or so they were able to get off the FOB and be in unison with people in Atlanta in running a 10K with 60,000 other people.

The race organizers at the Peachtree are simply amazing. I have run the event in Atlanta four times previously and enjoyed each one of them. I remembered a few years ago that they were honoring those serving overseas by allowing them the opportunity to run the race while deployed. So, in March I started doing some research to see if they still offered that deal to the guys. The website doesn’t advertise the program, so I was worried it was a one time deal at the beginning of our involvement over here. I decided to call the office and see if they still had that program. And boy do they still have the program. They mailed me 150 race numbers specially made for those serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Kuwait along with 150 shirts of varying sizes instead of one or two sizes (which the guys really appreciated), and a 14.5 foot banner (now hanging in our MWR tent) which was identical to the start banner with the addition of “Afghanistan Division” in the lower center portion.

All of that came in a few weeks ago and I was sworn to secrecy about the shirts and told we couldn’t post any photos until after the race had begun in Atlanta. This wasn’t hard as very few people have permission to post photos from over here. I started taking names earlier in the week and it was going slow at first and then the momentum built up to the 100 that ran it yesterday. We got placed some water on the course but I didn’t need to as some of the contractors that work in the chow hall took it upon themselves to pass out water to those running. And we had another group out there for the hour or so cheering guys along on the run. Two civilians stayed out on the course taking photos of the guys running. Marines that didn’t run were also poking their heads out of offices and tents talking with the runners and taking photos. One other highlight was that I called into the race start line at 0530 our time which was 2100 Atlanta time and they started the race for us on Peachtree Street. A retired Army officer gave me the countdown and they fired a starting gun and I heard some loud cheering in the background. They took some photos of that start and will email them to us. They also mentioned that CNN was filming the start as well. Everything that the people of the Peachtree did as well as the support from those not running gave this the feel of a major race and for an hour we were running the streets of Atlanta.