Pfc. Ryan Jerabek, USMC Memorial Challenge - Run4 Mile

I pushed but not too bad. My first mile was 9:00 ish. That is fast for me. The rest of it, I pushed when I had the energy and walked when I had to, like the last hill.

I don't know. Do more hill training maybe. I am not much of a hill person. The triathlons that I have scheduled are on flat courses and this race was done more for the significance of the event.

I kept walking but since it was not time chipped, they made us line up till they pulled off the race thing. I got back to the finishline and found my parents, grabbed my water and stretched.


Again, I am not a hill runner. I need to work on that. Other than that, I did pretty good considering the hills I conquered. Going out fast in the beginning helped my time.


This was a very special race. It was put on in honor of one of our town's fallen heroes, PFC Ryan Jerabek. This was the first annual Jerabek Challenge and I am sure this was stay annual. He ran the roads and hills to help him train for basic training. His parents Rita and Ken Jerabek personally organized this race and it was one of the best organized runs I have been to in a long time. They had a local radio person MC and some very important vets gave speeches. Ryan's dad was unable to run the route and had a close friend wear his son's dog tags so Ryan could run the route. The National Anthem brought tears to my eyes to think about what Ryan did for us. Then they had four skydivers land in the park, one carrying the American Flag. To start the run, a group of soldiers ran in formation ahead of the group. The race route was challenging but there were people along the side of the road cheering and you couldn't help but think with the sun shinning so bright and the happiness in the air think that Ryan was with each and everyone of us. Normally my mind drifts off to my family and friends when I run, but today Ryan ran along side of me and kept me company in my thoughts. They were hoping for 200 people and today they ran out of race numbers so they went to extras and I think the highest number I saw was 900 something. Pretty good for a small town event. It was beautiful and I am certainly going to bask in the happiness and love for our country and troups that the race brought today. And on that note, I think I'll finish with a thanks to all the troups out there that keep us safe everyday. Thank you, come home soon and take care.