Sgt. Dan Allison and Lance Cpl. Matthew Tune had set fliers out around the camp with pledge sheets for donations, as well as, create a donation website so others, not deployed, could help out as well.
I happened to be in the gym when they began the grueling challenge of taking turns running one hour at at time. I was very inspired by their will to complete such a daunting task and had a very enjoyable conversation with them before they began.
I made another stop in the gym later in the evening to offer encouragement and see how things were going. They were both pleased with their progress so far and really seemed prepared to finish with ease. When I went in the next day, Sgt. Allison was completing his final leg of his 12 runs.
Cpl. Tune had recently completed his 11th leg and resorted to sleeping on the treadmill despite the fact that they had brought a cot to sleep on. At this point the task had taken its toll on both runners.
Cpl. Tune was woken with 10 minutes before his 12th and final time on the treadmill in 24 hours. Support was given to them all night including movies, a projector, food, conversation, and even a statement that hid their time from them as they pounded away.
An announcement was made over the camp loud-speaker to encourage people to stop by and cheer the runners on to their finish. It was a great turn-out and their support was an obvious boost to the pair as they stepped out the final mile of their run. Sgt. Allison had since joined Cpl. Tune in the final minutes where the two completed their 24-hour journey to the cheering of coalition soldiers.
Between the two, they had ran 134 miles and raised more than $2,500. It was great to see such determination and gave all of us a sense that we can accomplish anything that we put our minds to. In a surprise ending, each of the runners was given a Georgia Guard Commendation Medal along with certificates of appreciation.
Stay tuned to see what else might happen in just another day of my life.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment