A marathon down memory lane

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Chuck Broadway
  • 9th RW Public Affairs
BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  On the morning of April 19, more than 26,000 runners prepared for the start of the 114th Boston Marathon in the town of Hopkinton, Mass. The massive crowd of participants swarmed the starting area, dressed in traditional marathon attire, all the while braving windy conditions with temperatures in the 40s.

Each runner had traveled a long path to get to this point. The months of training, qualifying and preparation had led to this moment. Thousands had come from all over the globe to compete in, and watch the race. However for one particular participant, it was a journey to an old stomping ground, a journey home.

For the third straight year, Capt. Brian Benestad, 9th Reconnaissance Wing assistant staff judge advocate, qualified and competed in what he calls the "Super Bowl of marathons." Each year he has been able to improve his time while running alongside his brother Chris Benestad, a school teacher in Massachusetts.

The motivation of a friendly, sibling rivalry, combined with familiar surroundings, allowed Captain Benestad to push himself to an overall time of 2:45 in this year's race, finishing seconds ahead of his elder sibling and good enough for 364th in the race.

"There's no spite involved," Captain Benestad admitted." We work together during the marathon, drafting off each other and pushing ourselves."

The 26-mile path runners take during their marathon journey from Hopkinton to Boston passes several memorable locations for Captain Benestad.

"My brother lives in [Hopkinton] and my parents live in Boston, so it's like running from house to house," he said. "We also ran past Boston College where I went to school."

The actual path crossed over several streets and hills where the captain once ran, biked and played sports recreationally at.

"I used to ride my bike along most of the course," Captain Benestad said. "We ran through Wellesley College where there's nothing but 5,000 screaming girls, and we also ran past Fenway Park and the famous Citgo sign."

The captain has family members that live at various mile-markers along the marathon's path including his parents, nephews and sister.

In order to prepare for the Boston Marathon, Captain Benestad put himself through an intense, 16-week training regiment consisting of long distance and speed running.

On any given weekend, he would run anywhere from 10 to 20 miles or compete in a five or 10 kilometer race locally. Each Tuesday in Sacramento, Calif. he met with a running group a Sacramento State University and completed two-mile speed routines. Thursdays were workouts consisting of tempo routines to steady a pace. Each day in between, he stayed active playing sports or doing other workouts to clear his mind from constant running.

"I enjoy playing sports like softball, basketball or golf to get a break physically and mentally from running," the captain said. "Training gets lonely when you're grinding out miles and my legs begin to cramp."

He was taken away from his regular training regime when he went on a four-week temporary duty assignment. However, he made up for the missed training by pushing himself even harder the last few weeks before the big race.

Just to qualify for the event, Captain Benestad had to run a marathon in less than 3:10:00 on an approved course. He qualified in October 2009 by finishing 46th out of 21,000 with a time of 2:44 at the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C.

He also competed in the Air Force marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio and finished 14th out of 4,000.

"Every step is an accomplishment during a marathon because my legs cramp up so much," Captain Benestad said when describing the feeling of pushing through the final portions of the races. "You just have to fight through it all and get a 'high' from all the people screaming and cheering for you to finish."

Captain Benestad said he likes to work out two to three hours each day and being able to do so within the work day is just a bonus. In a civilian legal office if you don't spend long hours at your desk, it's frowned upon. One of the best things about being in the Air Force legal field is that staying fit and working out is encouraged.

He attributes his running ethic and lifestyle for helping him make it through the long days sometimes expected of legal workers.

"On top of being able to ace the fitness test, it helps me focus with the long, tedious duties," the captain said. "[The competitiveness] of being in the courtroom is like competing in races because you always want to be the best."

With eight marathons under his belt, Captain Benestad now aims at not only improving his finishing time for next year's Boston Marathon, but also running as part of the Air Force Marathon Team and of course, continuing to outperform his brother.

"I need the challenge," he said. "I need the workouts to make sure I'm fit and can work the long hours. Running drives me every day, and it's what I enjoy."