MacDill Reservist surpasses expectations at USAF Marathon

  • Published
  • By SSgt Adam C. Borgman
  • 927 ARW, Public Affairs
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Florida --  For Senior Master Sgt. Dale Posey, a varsity letterman and two-year team co-captain of his high school cross country team, long distance running has always come natural.

At 50 years old with three marathons under his belt the, 927th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Specialist Flight Chief wanted to strive for excellence and register to compete in the 18th Annual Air Force Marathon.

After running in the Clearwater Marathon in January, with a time of almost 4-hours and 30-minutes, Posey set a goal that if diligently trained for, he could attain. Using a training plan and track workouts prepared by his distance running coach Maria Williams, Posey was confident that he would meet his goal, but didn't want to stop there.

"My target was to finish under four hours," said Posey. "During the 12-week training regimen, I always maintained the goal of breaking the four hour mark, but I wanted to shave off as much time as possible."

Posey credits his achievement to those from his work center who spent many lunch hours and weekends dedicated in showing their support by running with him.
"While training, I have shared many Saturdays on long runs with different members from RunTampa," said Posey. "Without the support from RunTampa and those I work with at the 927th Maintenance Group, I wouldn't have made it through the grueling summer heat."

On the day of the race, not only did Posey meet his goal, but he ran the USAF Marathon in 3-hours 44-minutes. Sixteen minutes faster than his goal and more than 41-minutes faster than he had 8 months before.
Of the 2,912 racers who finished the race, Posey placed 268, and placed 14 of the 239 in his age division.

Posey enjoyed his experience so much that he said that if he could get a group from MacDill next year, then he would participate in the USAF Marathon again.
"The Air Force Marathon was an excellent race, well organized and executed", said Posey. "There were several attractions scheduled for the participants to attend during the two-days leading to the start canon being fired."

The 18th Annual USAF Marathon was held September 20, at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The 19th Annual USAF Marathon is scheduled for September 19 2015; you can visit http://www.usafmarathon.com for more details.

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