Penn Hills soldier has his own race in Iraq
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Master Sgt. Jeffrey Perz, right, of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, is interviewed by announcer Rob Powers outside Sather Air Base in Iraq.
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When Jeffrey Perz realized he wouldn't be able to run in this year's Pittsburgh Marathon, he decided to create a marathon of his own.
Master Sgt. Perz, a Penn Hills K-9 officer serving in the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, was stationed in Kirkuk, Iraq, a few years ago when he heard about troops in another part of Iraq that had organized a companion race to the Aloha Marathon in Hawaii.
Sgt. Perz, who was in Baghdad during this year's Pittsburgh Marathon, thought, "If they can do it, why can't we?"
He asked workers in the public affairs office at his home base, the 171st Refueling Wing in Moon, whether they could organize a satellite race in Iraq in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Marathon.
Together, they contacted the organizers of the 2009 Dick's Sporting Goods Marathon, Patrice Matamoros and Dee Stathis.
"I thought it was fantastic," Ms. Stathis said. "These [troops] do so much for us on a daily basis. It was such a nice idea to give them a piece of Pittsburgh."
In late April, one week before the Pittsburgh Marathon, about 130 soldiers took part in the Spirit of Pittsburgh Marathon inside Sather Air Base in Iraq.
They ran around their secure installation in shifts -- some at 7 p.m. after working for 12 hours; others at 7 a.m. before they prepared for their day's work. Some ran wearing nearly 40 pounds of combat gear.
Most of the soldiers chose to run 2.62 miles instead of the usual 26.2 in a marathon because the heat index in Iraq is more than 100 degrees most days, and it is difficult to set up water tables.
A few ran half-marathons. One, Sr. Master Sgt. George Neville, of Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia, ran a full marathon.
Sgt. Perz, 47, ran a half-marathon the next weekend so that he was available to help coordinate the logistics during the event.
It was a nice break, said Sgt. Perz, who has been a serious runner for more than 25 years.
"The reason I run is it's just a time to get away to solve your problems and get your head right," he said.
And that's exactly what he wanted the Spirit of Pittsburgh Marathon to be for the soldiers involved.
"I just hoped that everyone had a good time," he said.
Ms. Matamoros and Ms. Stathis sent the soldiers shirts and marathon medals. Ms. Stathis said she didn't keep track of the cost because "all of us feel pretty strongly about the troops."
They also sent announcer Rob Powers, known for 22 years as "The Voice of Running."
Mr. Powers, a former national teams athlete and Olympics team coach, owns a nonprofit organization called The Warrior Tours. He and a group of assistants travel to military bases throughout the world to help host marathons and other sporting events for soldiers.
"In all my years of service as America's Voice of Running, I've never been involved in anything that even comes close to the rewarding experience of connecting warriors like Master Sgt. Jeffrey Perz and others with American citizens," Mr. Powers, who is based in Colorado, wrote in an e-mail .
"I've been to a lot of shows, so to speak. They all pale in comparison to the humanity I witnessed as our soldiers hurried to go from combat-area duties to donning their physical training gear so they could be a part of the Spirit of Pittsburgh Marathon."
Mr. Powers brought the soldiers numbers to put on their backs as they ran. All had the same number: 1.
He also filmed the marathon and shot video shout-outs from the soldiers to their family members back home.
Six or seven families gathered during the Health & Fitness Expo before the May 3 Pittsburgh Marathon to watch the video Mr. Powers shot. Ms. Stathis joined them. She cried as the footage played.
"They were so incredibly grateful," she said. "They made us sound like the heroes, like we had done something great, when they're the ones who are over there really sacrificing."
First Published June 18, 2009 5:48 am
