Airmen named to marathon team

Published July 29, 2011
By John Cochran
377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

Kirtland Air Force Base -- Two Airmen assigned to Kirtland Air Force Base have been selected to run for the Air Force Materiel Command team Sept. 17 in the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.

Airman 1st Class Monte D. Murillo, 550th Aircraft Maintenance Unit, and Airman 1st Class Joseph J. Medley, 58th Maintenance Operations Squadron, will join two other runners on the AFMC men's half-marathon team.

The Kirtland AFB runners' coach is Zac Holmes, who works in the fitness assessment cell at the base's Health and Wellness Center, administering the physical fitness test.
"Joe and Monte ran close to nine minutes (in the mile-and-a-half run) or a little faster, and that's pretty good here, at this altitude. I asked them if they were interested in training for the Air Force Marathon and half-marathon, and they were. Here we are a few months and many miles later, getting ready for the race."

Holmes ran track in high school, then later worked as an assistant track coach at his high school. After joining the Army, he ran on the Fort Lewis, Wash., 10-miler team, competing in the Army's annual race in Washington, D.C., then ran for Vincennes University in Indiana.

"I've been around track and field and distance running since I was 13. I heard about the Air Force's annual race and I thought Kirtland should send some people there to represent. We did a time trial in the spring and they (Murillo and Medley) were fast enough to make the team."

He said that Airmen at Kirtland AFB who are interested in being sponsored for the Air Force Marathon can talk with him, or Mitch Weathers at the East Fitness Center, at any time.

The coach said that training in the high altitude at Kirtland AFB will give Murillo and Medley an advantage when they get to the race at Wright-Patterson AFB. He spoke about his expectations for the two runners in the 13.1-mile contest.

"The goal for Joe is to break 1 hour, 20 minutes. 1:18:45 is a six minute pace, and that's something that he can certainly do. Joe should be in the top 20 - maybe even in the top 10. Monte is looking to break 1:12, and that should get him into the top five."

Holmes explained his approach to training the two Airmen for the Air Force Marathon.

"We've done our base mileage and a lot of speed work, and now it's time to put it into action and get some race experience going into the big Air Force race. The Rio Grande Half-Marathon is on Aug. 14 and I want them to do that race."

Both the distance runners have been stationed here since January. Medley, who works as an analyst with the 58 MOS, is a relative newcomer to road racing.

"I've always run just for fun - I've never done it competitively before. Zack administered my PT test, and because of my time, he said, 'Are you interested in running marathons?' and I said 'yes.' We've been training since March 1."

He talked about the regimen they've used to prepare for the race.

"We had been doing some obscene mileage. We started with time, so we'd just run for an hour. We'd get about 10-12 miles a day, seven days a week. Then we went into some serious mileage.

We had three weeks of planned 100-mile weeks. The most we hit was 95-97. Those were a lot more brutal than we thought they'd be. Last month was especially brutal. We were doing speed work. One day we had nine miles of speed work - that doesn't include the rest or the walks, just full-out."

Murillo, who works on C-130 instruments and flight controls, has some competitive racing experience.

"I ran track all through high school - varsity since my freshman year. I've competed in half-marathons before, but I've put in more mileage now than I ever have. I'm in a lot better shape now. I've dropped a minute off my time in the mile and-a-half in just a few months."

Murillo's most recent time for the mile-and-a-half run during his PT test was 7:49, a Kirtland AFB record. He joked that it could have been faster, but it was a windy day and there was no one to push him.

The Abilene, Texas, native said his chain of command strongly supports his training and racing.

"If I ever need to run a race in the morning, my leadership is real flexible. They're always asking me how I'm doing in training and how everything is going. Being able to work on aircraft and run at the same time - you can't beat it. I like to compete. It brings positive recognition to the base, based on our merit."
He had the following advice for prospective distance runners.

"Anyone can get better. It takes discipline and a lot of time. We put quite a few hours on the track every week."

AFMC team members' participation earns points toward the "Major Command Challenge," an Air Force-wide competition open to active-duty and activated Guard and Reserve Airmen. Now in its fifth year, the MAJCOM Challenge was established to boost involvement in the marathon. The point system rewards commands for their percentage growth in active-duty or activated military participation, based on population. Top male and female finishers in all age groups, in the half- and full-marathon races, earn points for their commands. The winning command will take possession of a traveling trophy.

Editor's note: Air Force Materiel Command Services Marketing contributed to this article.