Bolling Airmen run Boston Marathon

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tim Chacon
  • 11th Wing Public Affairs
BOLLING AFB, D.C. --  The average Air Force member completing physical training three times a week, runs 26.2 miles in about six weeks. 

Col. Carl Gramlick, 11th Wing vice commander, and Senior Master Sergeant Andre Karr, 11th Comptroller Squadron superintendent, ran all 26.2 of the Boston Marathon April 20 in Boston, Mass. 

These Bolling Airmen completed the biggest race in the world. Runners from all over the world travel to compete in the annual marathon. 

"It is a huge deal," said Sergeant Karr. "It's like the Super Bowl or the World Series of running." 

This is not the first time either man has completed a marathon. This was Sergeant Karr's second marathon, meaning he qualified for the Boston Marathon in his first marathon attempt. This is Colonel Gramlick's fourth marathon completion. 

More than 23,000 runners started the race, with 98.7% finishing it. The Boston Marathon is second only to the Super Bowl in terms of media coverage. About 500,000 spectators come out to line the race route. 

"So many people come out to support it," said Sergeant Karr "I was really impressed by the community. The people line the course almost the whole way." 

"With all the people and excitement you feel like a rock star for a day," said Colonel Gramlick. "There is 26 miles of crowd, all cheering." 

The Boston Marathon is a grueling race, sending 28 runners to the hospital following injuries. "It was the most pain I have ever been in," said Colonel Gramlick. "When I finished I could only think about the excruciating pain. Then I thought about how I had to run it again." 

"The top three to five percent of the world's distance runners run at Boston," said Sergeant Karr. 

Not all competitors have to be in that top tier of world runners to run the race, though. "There are really two categories of runners. There are the elite who are competing to win and then there's everyone else," said Col Gramlick. "Everyone who runs it has their own reason for running." 

"It was inspiring to see some of the people who were running," said Sergeant Karr. "There was a guy in a wheelchair who had to go backwards to get up the hills. There were wounded troops who were running on prosthetic legs." 

"It is very inspiring from a runner's perspective to see those guys doing what they're doing," said Colonel Gramlick. "It's hard to complain when you see them doing it." 

Both men trained very hard for the race, running countless miles and pushing themselves to the limit. The pair lost a combined 85 pounds and raised their PT scores to 100 percent. 

"I really want to show that if an old guy can do it, anyone can," said Sergeant Karr. "It's not genetics. You just have to have will and drive."