Clockwise from top: Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division (LI) kick off at the starting line of an Army Ten-Miler qualifying run Aug. 3 hosted by Fort Drum Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation staff. The Soldiers competed to earn free registration for this year’s virtual race. Capt. Japheth Ngojoy and Capt. John Evans, both with 2nd Brigade Combat Team crossed the finish line together with a time of 36.33. Capt. Kelly MacDonald, with Fort Drum MEDDAC, placed first among female runners, with a time of 41:15. (Photos by Mike Strasser, Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs)
Fort Drum Soldiers race for virtual Army Ten-Miler
Mike Strasser
Fort Drum Garrison Public Affairs
FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Fort Drum Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation staff hosted an Army Ten-Miler (ATM) qualifying run Aug. 3 for 10th Mountain Division (LI) Soldiers to earn free registration for this year’s virtual race.
In this current COVID-19 environment, the race table had bottles of hand sanitizer next to the water cooler, and participants toed the starting line wearing face coverings. Runners were able to unmask during the race.
Capt. Japheth Ngojoy and Capt. John Evans, both with 2nd Brigade Combat Team, ran on last year’s Fort Drum Army Ten-Miler Team. At the qualifier, they crossed the finish line together with a time of 36.33.
“My goal was to run as fast as I need to,” Evans said. “So, me and Ngojoy decided that once we were ahead of everyone, we would settle in to a comfortable tempo pace to the finish.”
Evans has participated in multiple Army Ten-Miler races before, and he said that having it changed to a virtual event won’t deter him from running again.
“Even in a pandemic, I’m still going to stay in shape and run, regardless,” he said. “So I might as well run the race too.”
Capt. Kelly MacDonald, with Fort Drum MEDDAC, placed first among female runners, with a time of 41:15.
Jonathan Burnard, FMWR Sports director, said that this was the first athletic event he has been able to organize during the pandemic, and he was happy with the number of runners who participated.
“This was a good chance for our runners to get out of that COVID funk,” he said. “They got some fresh air, some competition, and it’s getting back to some normality.”
With so many races cancelled or going virtual this year, Burnard said that they were excited to provide Soldiers with the traditional qualifier race and a chance to represent Fort Drum in the virtual event.
“We still wanted to give Soldiers an opportunity to run the race, even if they can’t physically go down to Washington, D.C., this year to compete,” he said. “We’re excited that we can still have it here, and it will be fun to see how they do.”
According to the Army Ten-Miler race rules, participants have Oct. 11-18 to run 10 miles, and results must be recorded on the ATM app. Burnard said that Fort Drum FMWR will create a 10-mile course on post for participants to use that will be relatively flat.
Another qualifier is scheduled at 7 a.m. Aug. 10 outside Magrath Sports Complex for Soldiers who were unable to attend today’s event. Registration starts at 6 a.m.
For more information, visit https://drum.armymwr.com or call (315) 772-9670.
To learn more about the Army Ten-Miler, visit https://www.armytenmiler.com.