MacDill Reservist represents at AF Marathon

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Peter Dean
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing/Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Chief Master Sgt. Erin Willis, 927th Maintenance Group, superintendent  was one of 10 Reservists that represented the Air Force Reserve Command in the 19th Annual Air Force Marathon, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Sept. 19.

To be selected was quite an accomplishment, of the 79,000 Reservists that were eligible to apply; Willis was one of three females selected to be on the team.

"I am extremely excited, honored and humbled to have been selected to represent the Air Force Reserve," said Willis. "The pressure was on, I not only ran for my own time but also for my team's time as a whole."

The history of marathons dates back hundreds of years, the romantic version goes something like this:

At the Battle of Marathon, the Athenian Army was outnumbered four to one but they launched a surprise offensive that at the time seemed suicidal. By day's end, 6,400 Persian perished on the field while only 192 Athenians had been killed. The surviving Persians fled to sea and headed south to Athens where they hoped to attack the city before the Greek Army could re-assemble there.

Phidippides was called upon to run to Athens, 26 miles away to carry the news of the victory and warn of the approaching Persian ships. Despite his fatigue after his recent run to Sparta and back, 140 miles and having fought all morning in heavy armor, Phidippides rose to the challenge. Pushing himself past normal limits of human endurance, he reached Athens delivering the message. Shortly thereafter he died from exhaustion.

Like Phidippides, running is in Willis' blood, a runner from her youth, this was not her first athletic event. Although this will be her first Air Force Marathon, She has participated in four other marathons, numerous triathlons and other endurance races.

"I have been running for as long as I can remember, I ran track and cross country in high school," said Willis. "I did the RocketMan Triathlon on Cape Canaveral [Air Force Station, Florida] last year, in which I came in first place in my division, and I am signed up to do it again this year. I love to run."

Willis' goal was not to complete but to compete and in order to so, she not only had to prepare physically but also mentally.

"A race is 20 percent physical and 80 percent mental," said Willis. "Don't quit, I'll tell ya, the feeling you get when you cross that finish line is incredible. You can't find a runner that doesn't have a super low point during the race where they wish they could quit. But when you cross the finish line you forget about all the pain and discomfort, it's a super feeling...Don't quit!"

Willis lived up to her goal, coming in 19th in her division and crossing the finish line in 4:23:55