Game, set, match

  • Published
  • By Jonathan Rejent
  • Nucleus staff writer
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  Traveling the globe. Meeting celebrities. Playing table tennis for a living.

Airman 1st Class Trevor Runyan was doing all of the above, but said he had always wanted to serve in the military and would have joined sooner if he had heard about the "range of training and combination of special ops with the medical field" that encompasses pararescue. In 2011, Runyan signed up.

"I prioritized -- I could play ping pong all the time or I could join the Air Force," he said.

In December, Runyan, who arrived at Kirtland Air Force Base in September 2011 and is currently awaiting his freefall parachuting course at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., was invited to a national table tennis tournament in Las Vegas.

Runyan had not played in almost two years, and had three weeks to prepare. Despite his hiatus from the sport, Runyan took first place in two events -- hardbat and sandpaper -- beating an estimated 300 players.

"It felt good to know I was able to play at a competitive level after not playing for such a long time," Runyan said.

Growing up in San Francisco, Runyan's introduction to the game began at age seven. His father heard about players in the Bay Area doing well at the national championships and brought Runyan to a local table tennis club to watch them practice. Quickly, the sport became a hobby.

"In order to excel, you really have to go overseas to train," Runyan said. "When I was on the national team, it was my ticket to travel."
After high school, he lived in Germany for a year, and has since played everywhere from Brazil to Egypt.

Runyan's life as a table tennis player introduced him to places he may not otherwise have seen and people, as well.

In early 2011, Runyan was in Las Vegas for a tournament. Simultaneously, professional football player Tim Tebow was there, and after seeing Runyan's photo on a billboard for the tournament, Tebow's agent contacted one of the tournament's coordinators to organize a friendly exercise in table tennis.

"I gave him a lesson, made him do footwork drills for half an hour, and we played a match," Runyan said.

Although his pararescue training doesn't allow for much time with the paddle anymore, Runyan said he is currently working to get a ping pong table in the dorms.

"Once it's approved, I'd like to put a pararescue insignia on the table and make it a heritage gift to the school," Runyan said.

When asked whether he has run into decent ping pong competition around the base, Runyan responded with a laugh -- "We'll have to find out once we get the table."