Soldiers taking steps to do Dallas' White Rock Marathon - from Iraq

Tag : running shoes
Soldiers taking steps to do Dallas' White Rock Marathon - from Iraq 12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, September 24, 2008 By ERIC AASEN eaasen@dallasnews.com
Some days, Jeremy Jackson is up by 4 a.m., his running shoes on. Acouple of hours later, and the temperature might crack 105.
His track is a gravel road. Rocks can be huge obstacles, especiallytough on the shoes.
Army Capt. Jackson is training for the Dallas White Rock Marathon– the one he'll run in a war zone 7,000 miles away.
His military base in Mosul, Iraq, is a stark contrast to theglistening waters of White Rock Lake. He runs over hills and passestents, helicopter pads, a sewage-treatment plant and parking lotsfull of tactical combat vehicles.
"You'd be surprised how quickly you run through a pair of shoes,"Capt. Jackson, 28, said in a telephone interview from his base.
Military trucks kick up sand as they zoom by Capt. Jackson, and theblistering Iraqi sun beats down on him relentlessly. But he keepsrunning.
Because, come December, he is determined to be among the severaldozen runners in Mosul competing with the marathon runners inDallas (though eight hours earlier to avoid running in the dark).
Marathons across the U.S. – from Hawaii to Tennessee –have worked with American soldiers to hold satellite races in Iraqand Afghanistan, but this will be a first for the White Rock run,organizers said.
For Capt. Jackson, who's stationed out of Fort Hood, marathontraining is not only good exercise, but a way to put his 15-monthdeployment on fast-forward.
"The weeks have flown by since I've been doing this," Capt. Jacksonsaid. "It really has helped."