It has all gone by in a blurrrrrrr. With friends Dean, Kristin and reachout to Boston Billy at the Marin County Marathon...on the eve of the Boston Marathon.... I left the warmth and energy of a first time event (Marin County Marathon) and landed in Kuwait... after 2 hrs of sleep and a Camel Ride (don't ask) in the middle of the night... I landed in Baghdad and was whisked over to Sather Air Base... where Madam Secretary of State Clinton was meeting with all the Middle East Ambassadors..... While she had her hands full.. I was busy producing Shoutouts and video coverage of the Dick's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Spirit Marathon for the Troops.
The players that all came together to make this happen are long listed, but I've got to mention LTC Scott Rainey of Centcom Iraq, Chris and Zach at Trovata Entertainment, Theresa Grogan of the DOD, Lawrence Engermann of DOD North Kuwait , Clayton Bovey of MWR Kuwait and LTC Burt of Centcom Iraq... they all teamed up with LTC Accamando of the PANG and his people LTC Painter, Top Perz and TSgt Cameron to pull this amazing feat off. SMSGT Neville ran a Boston Qualifying Masters time of 3:19:45... along with other great performances by the running warriors of Sather AB who participated in two 2.62 Duty Runs.... a Spirit Relay....and even a Battle Rattle full Kevlar 1 mile race...
I got out of Sather kind of late... and arrived in Kuwiat just in time for CSM Jordan and his team to whisk me through the night to Camp Buerhing (Northern Deployement Base just south of Iraq Border).. so that I could eat...shower...and jump up on the USO/MWR Stage to open up the Indy 500 Festivals Mini Marathon at 0300 hrs ... on Monday... then it was more meet and greets after this race was over... great shoutout filming...picture taking..(special thanks to LTC Kruse, CSM Jordan and Cpt Grant along with others...Eben and his MWR staff etc...) cause we where able to share all of this footage with WISHTV Indy leading up to and including race day.. in Indy...
From the count down to start the race (we had the warriors at Camp Buehring record it for us) to the slideshow that BMG Event Production built for us.. playing on the JumboTron.. to WISHTV's Adam's Live TV segment.... shoutouts looped into music pieces etc..etc.etc... it was all just a blurrr and amazing the amount of connectivity that was created in Indy..... then of course with 3 thousand people still to finish.. I had to blast off the finishline and sprint to the airport with the help of the Indy 500 Festival Committee Staff.. so that I could make my flight to Pittsburgh where we had a similar unrolling of the Warrior Runs scheduled with KDKA TV and others in Pittsburgh... again the connectivity was amazing.. Billy Rodgers spent the whole morning with me doing TV...while Mike Reilly hammered home the message of the troop run over the PA System... in the end... it couldn't have been better... one of my constaint supporters (LTC Accamando- PA 171 Public Affairs Director) ran in the event... and when the event was over.. and I thought we'd done it all... the LTC leans in on me and asks if I've got enough energy left to go to the Pirates Ball Game... I'm like sure Sir..... so off we go... next thing I know I'm in a Pirates Jersey and Ballcap.. walking out onto the field with the stadium announcer giving this huge speach about all that I'd done over the past 8 days... 3 wonderful female singers belt out God Bless America... the JumboTrons are focused in at the end.. and I open up my Pirates Jersey to reveal a USAF sweatshirt that the LTC had given me....the Fans went nuts... standing O for the Troops.. made me cry.. cause I knew right then and there something that LTC Accamando had already figured out...that the folks at the 500 Festival had already known.... that the connectivity of doing this firstever Robi Double Tour.... had worked... it had brought our citizens and citizen soldiers closer together!!!!
So off I zoomed to home.. for a nice 3 day break before heading to Fargo.. this was my first time at Fargo and I was blown away... from the Expo.. to the races...everything is just first class.... again I shared shoutouts..and thankful words from the troops I had been with to the residents, Mayors and Staff members of Fargo and Moorehead.. for all the outstanding work that had gone into keep the two towns "dry" during the flooding this spring... and again.. when the race was over... and the evening turned to a celebration party for the "sandbaggers" I was asked to go up on stage between two great Bands that performed throughout the night at the Fargo Dome... and Mark and Rob's crew at the Fargo Dome .. ran the Kuwiat Mini Marathon Slideshow that BMG had put together....again the people were totally into it.. and when I told them how the troops had told me to make sure they new how much the troops had been thinking of THEM this spring... it just blew them away.. the cheers.. the heart felt pride in being an American... a Human.. could be felt throughout the Fargo Dome....and the 10k plus people inside....
Home for a couple of days... and off to Cleveland... new 5km race on Saturday morning that was held down in the flats.. super fun.. followed by some expo work then Kids event at a new Park.. (out grew the Science Center).... what started off as excellent only got better as Saturday rolled into Sunday... Amy Liss, Bart Yasso were my co-hosts and we just simply had a blast.... yelling and screaming for everyone to come on home.... quick meeting with theWarriorTours Chair of Board Ed Bell, of Gries Financial before jumping on a plane home to Steamboat...
Three days later... (and a couple of cool baseball games by Erik and Robi) and Gretchen and I were headed for Vermont... 21 years old... and maybe one of the best ever... thing i like about Vermont is that while there was a time when some folks thought the way to go was to have the event be a major marathon... what it really has become is just a major happening... it's an experience... it's something families do on Memorial Day Weekend... every year.. period!.. Charlie and Sarah Reinertsen were my co-hosts.....Grant and Super Sounds just nailed the production and feed to WVMT Radio for the live simulcast.. and the runners and their family members all just got into having FUN.. bummer was... that I couldn't hang with Bob and Anita from Granite State (timers).. couldn't go drink all of Scott Carpenters (keybank president) beer .. I had to jump a flight out to LA...
Got into Los Angeles around 11pm.. cab over to the Biltmore (kinda nice hotel downtown) where my MATE.. Rod Dixon was waiting in the room to go over details on the next mornings events... I went to bed with a LA Road Runners Pep Rally at 6am followed by kidsMarathon pre event meeting at 7:30am... followed by 5km race and kidsMarathon races.... Unified/Springfield sponsor messages in my head..... two seconds later the alarms are going off and it's back to it... Happily the LA Road Runners are just pure JOY... starting your day...any day off with these guys will put a smile on your face... Rod and I hustled as best we could over to the kids race.. but it seemed like every two steps my Mate would get pulled aside for a hug.. or hello from someone... (hey I even knew some folks too : ) but in the end.. we were in full production for the LA Marathon 5km and kidsMarathon 1 mile graduation run...
Our special Grand Marshall... was a super cool young man by the name of Hawken Miller... Hawken helps promote a wonderful organization www.cureduchenne.org and without missing a beat Hawken officially started the event with a super loud countdown from 10..... with thousands of kids charging off the line onto the course.. Hawken, his Parents and staff members hussled over to the finishline.. to hang out in the Kids Only zone... I managed to run around and sign a million autographs for the kids... (thank you Binny and FedEx Kinkos Burlington Vermont.. for the autograph stock)... and even managed to catch lunch with some friends in the LA Marathon VIP court... stopped by and hung out with my brothers and sisters at ChronoTrack ... actually caught David Simms eating something during a race... and before I knew it.. I was in a cab headed to the airport...
zoom zoom... landed at 1030pm...got home around midnight....and officially wrapped up my travels for the month of May... Off this coming weekend... and I don't mind that one bit....
Sarah gave one of her best pre race chats ever tonight in Vermont.
The eve of the kickoff events here in Burlington, Vermont.. Joe and I just got done putting up the finishline truss.... YAM Scram in Morning... 600+ kids get to finish under the same finish line as the rest of the gang on Sunday.
Two days out.. just back from meeting with Andrea and new Exec. Director Peter... all systems are go!
SFC C... you know how I felt about the man... most of the 2-172 Mtn Inf crew from back in the day remembers as well. He's with us every step..every crank.. every step we take... in the good times and the hard times.. always.... NEVER forgotten Chris... and this event is so important... he'd by like "what's the fuss...let's not make anyone do any extra work...." Stoney rules and always will my friend!
Gretchen.....joining her sister Dominique...at Mtn Top today in Chittenden Vermont. Great Ski Racing Girls!!!
Running with warriors tour
Official Tour Tech Shirts and Hats Now Available For Order
David and the Gang at Endurafit have set us up with Online Merchandise
Please check out:
http://www.endurafit.com/category/Running_Warriors_Tour.html
Running with warriors tour
America’s Races Salute the Troops
Warriors Tour Website To Launch This Week
Please check out: www.runnersWall.com/warriortour
Running with warriors tour
America’s Races Salute the Troops
APO Address Change..... APO Address Change
Effective 1MAR09 - We have a new APO Address in IRAQ
Please contact: robpowersusa@aol.com For new Address.
Running with warriors tour
America’s Races Salute the Troops
Feb-2009, Well the World is about to find something out that those of us on the Running with Warriors Tour Staff, have known for a long time....that Catch Penny ROCKS!!! The stakes have just gone up for the Tour...as our Official Live Music providers have just been awarded the "Armed Forces Entertainers of the Year Award"... Our plan remains the same... to fly into Camps/Bases in a: 7Bases-7Races-7Day format... meeting the Warriors... hosting a evening of Music and Story Telling...and then conduct the actual running race the following morning....after Awards Ceremonies are complete and Goodbye's exchanged... the Tour Staff will hop to another Camp/Base and repeat the process... Check out our Official Live Music at: www.catchpennyband.com
Running with warriors tour
America’s Races Salute the Troops
Iraq Summer 2009- "Good Morning and Welcome To The San Francisco Marathon...Marine Corps Marathon, Little Rock Marathon, Vermont City Marathon, Chicago Half Marathon, Miami and Atlanta Marathons, Denver Marathon supported 2 miler....here in IRAQ ... we will be starting in 10 minutes...all Runners report to staging... As we continue to listen to CatchPenny live here at the Start/Finish Line ... Welcome and Good Luck Today From America's Races and American's near and far ...."
Welcome to the first ever Department of Defense Entertainment Department presented series of running races at select Bases in Iraq. The theme and associated events will mark the first time that icons from within the running community have traveled over to Iraq, to support a running race Series... in what is planned to be:
" 7 Races - on 7 Bases - in 7 Days "
One of the primary goals of the program is to motivate US Armed Forces Members to continue to maintain the highest standards of cardiovascular fitness, through: Education, Information and Entertainment components presented by some of the biggest names in Running...supported by one of the most popular Armed Forces touring bands - CatchPenny... who will use this running series to continue their goal of performing over 160 performances for our Troops in 2009.
By taking the standard Armed Forces Physical Fitness Test Two Mile running event and applying all the resources available to major Stateside running events our Warriors will experience first hand the latest in timing technology, perform their test run in an environment every bit as “Olympic” in nature as events like the Marine Corps Marathon….the Nations Largest Peoples Marathon. “Running the AFPT 2 miler is one of the most dreaded activities for many troops” says Rob Powers, America’s Voice of Running and Host of the Tour, a retired Armed Forces Sports Program Athlete himself, “ Our goal is to change the way Warriors feel and think about not only the test, but running and cardiovascular conditioning in general....anyone that thinks staying "Fit" in triple digit temp's is easy...let alone in a combat area of operations...needs to re-think the scenerio" he adds.
"We tried to think of a ways to raise the bar for our Warriors and came up with America's Races Salute the Troops... what this means is that when soldiers toe their starting lines on race day... they'll be: wearing a Race Bib from a Major US Race, Receive a Finishers Medal, TShirt etc.. from a major US Race... We've had remote races going on for years... The Army 10 Miler has one of the longest track records of doing this... During this Tour... we've invited all US Races to send over supplies.. so that (hopefully... a Warrior from Chicago...can pick up a Chicago Half Marathon Tech Shirt... Marines can grab a Marine Corps Marathon Shirt, California's can grab a San Francisco Shirt etc...)" says Powers, adding" Additionally, we have several sponsors that will be offering each Warrior Runner's circle of Friends and Family special products and services...that will ship to their doorstep."
Aside from the obvious welfare benefits of physical training the Celebrity Group is hoping that the entire experience will be one of increased Morale both for the Warriors and their Family Members. "If we can help Troops feel better, their families feel better and more connected... we'll feel like we accomplished our goal" says the staff.
The Tour will feature the following staff: Tentative Subject To Change....
Host- Rob Powers, America’s Voice of Running and retired Olympic Teams Coach **
Co-Host- Bart Yasso, Chief Running Officer- RunnersWorld Magazine **
Men’s Special Guest- Major Dan Browne, US Army World Class Athlete Program, Olympian
Men's Special Guest- Frank Shorter, Olympic Gold Medalist, Army Dependent, born on Army Base in Munich Germany
Race Director- Jeff Frost, Director, D.C. National Marathon, Veteran Director of Major Events **
Timing and Stats-Rick and Josh Sterns- SplitSecondTiming, ChronoTrack Dtag System, **
Entertainment- CatchPenny, Armed Forces Entertainers of the Year 2009, playing live during events **
Runner Services- Nearly Every Major Running Race in America is donating supplies ... look for the Running with Warriors Tour on the majority of America's largest races websites in March. A complete list will also be availabe on the Running with Warriors Tour website which will be operational by 01Mar09.
** Confirmed as of 01FEB09
About Running with Warriors Tour-
Please send all inquires to Rob Powers, P.O. Box 1230, Clark, CO 80428 - (970) 846-8772 - Email:
RobPowersUSA@aol.com www.runnersWall.com/WarriorTour (March 2009)
