Airman runs for more than just 26 miles

  • Published
  • By Army Sgt. Jorge Gomez
  • Joint Task Force-Bravo Public Affairs
SOTO CANO AIR BASE, Honduras (ACCNS) --  Television models and celebrities did not inspire an Airman here to get in shape. It was military bearing.

Prior to enlisting in the Air Force, 1st Lt. Kelly Courtland, the Sub Area Petroleum Office
officer-in-charge and the food service officer at Joint Task Force-Bravo, had to lose 12 pounds and remain in a weight program to stay below her maximum allowance. Throughout high school, the 175-pound student cared nothing about her physique.

“Image wasn’t an issue to me until about my second year in the Air Force,” Lieutenant
Courtland said. “It was then I noticed people who were disciplined, sharp and looked good in uniform.”

The bearing projected by top Airmen inspired her to take up running and get in shape. Her determination came to its sharpest focus when the former NCO joined the drill instructor ranks.

“Image was everything, then,” she said. “I was the first person these trainees were looking up to as an example.”

While other instructors rode bicycles along with their flights or stood and observed them,
Lieutenant Courtland led by example and ran with her Airmen.

For six years, the Montague, Mich., native turned civilians into Airmen while she worked on her bachelor’s degree, and finally reached her goal of attending Officer Training School.

In 2003, Lieutenant Courtland competed in her first marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. That same year, she competed in two additional marathons in Athens, Greece, and Austin, Texas. Now she is completing the circle as she prepares for another 26.2-mile challenge at Wright-Patterson Sept. 18.

Lieutenant Courtland said she does not describe herself as a fast runner and doesn’t intend to become one.

“It’s not the competition that drives me,” she said. “It’s the satisfaction that comes with
completing a marathon.”

Since she arrived at Soto Cano Air Base June 8, she’s been training for the upcoming Air Force Marathon six days a week. On weekdays she runs five to six miles; Saturdays she runs three miles; and Sundays she runs 12 miles adding two-mile increments each week. By the end of August, she’ll be running 20 miles on Sundays.

The key to keeping up with such long distances is maintaining a comfortable pace, Lieutenant Courtland said.

“I don’t make myself miserable by running hard at the beginning, my goal is not speed but distance,” she said.

The best part about running as early as 4:30 in the morning is that, “No matter what kind of day I may have at work, I know I’ve accomplished something,” she said.

Ever since she discovered the life-changing power of running, she has reached out to other Airmen who have trouble staying fit.

“I tell people that it’s not a matter of taking up a fad diet, “ she said. “I stress to
them that they can do it and remind them of how good they will feel about themselves once they see changes.”