Team Dyess takes first in Capital to Coast relay race

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Robert Hicks
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Team Dyess placed first in the Hero's Division of the 2nd Annual Capital to Coast relay race Oct. 12-15 in support of arthritis research.

The 223-mile race from Austin, Texas, to Corpus Christi, Texas, took the team 31 hours and 37 minutes and was completed with no injuries.

"The hardest part about the race was sleep deprivation," said Capt. Jon Van Nostrand, 7th Maintenance Operations Squadron. "You can prepare yourself for day one, but it's hard to prepare yourself to run three legs six miles each in a span of 32 hours. By everyone's last leg they had slept about two hours."

The average pace for the team was 8 minutes 30 seconds a mile.

"It was a fun and exciting experience," said Tech. Sgt. Albert Herrera, 7th Civil Engineer Squadron. "Going through everything we did, we came together as a team and worked through it. It will be fun to do it again, especially if it's supporting some kind of charity."

"This event got me motivated to do more running. When you know a good chunk of what you're paying to enter an event goes to research, it only sweetens the feeling," Van Nostrand said.

According to the Capital to Coast Web site, the difference between this relay and others is its landscape, weather, elevation and length.

"There were some tough legs to run," Herrera said. "I had one leg where the whole six miles was a constant climb."

There are more than 100 different types of arthritis with no known cure and an estimated 67 million Americans will be affected in the next 20 years.

Team Dyess is planning on participating in next year event as well.