80th OSS officer 249th out of 23,000 in Boston Marathon

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 80th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs officer
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Capt. David Max didn't set out to beat world-champion cyclist Lance Armstrong April 21 in the 112th running of the Boston Marathon. But he did, finishing the race in 2:43:50, a time that put him 249 out of more than 13,000 male competitors and more than 250 spots ahead of Armstrong.

"He's a biker, not a runner," Captain Max, an instructor pilot at the 80th Operations Support Squadron. "His personal goal is to run below 2:40, which is my goal."

The winner of the event, Robert Cheruiyot of Kenya, finished the race in 2:07:45.

Although the captain didn't break the 2:40 mark, he said he was pleased with his effort in the 26.2-mile run. He said he learned the course - his first time to compete in the Boston Marathon - and he won't make the same mistakes the next time he runs.

An example was a portion of the course 20.5 miles into the race. It was a grueling stretch of road, he said, called Heartbreak Hill. According to www.boston.com, the hill rises a half-mile, which, accompanied by the fact that those who make it to that point in the race have already ran more than 20 miles, is one of the more challenging portions of the course.

"The more I think about it, it was really neat being part of it," he said. "It's almost like the Masters in golf, the Daytona in racing and the Super Bowl."

Captain Max said he's been running since he was a freshman in high school, and runs about 50 to 60 miles per week. He said he began increasing his mileage in preparation for the marathon about five months ago, include four runs a week that are more than 20 miles.

To qualify for the Boston Marathon, the captain said he had to complete a marathon in a time of 3:10:00. He did that when he completed the Houston Marathon in about 2:43:00, he said.

But, his qualifying time did more than just qualify him for the Boston run. It also put him toward the front of the more than 23,000 male and female participants.

"I was lucky in that my qualifying time put me in the first 300 people," he said. "I could at least see the starting line."

The 80th OSS captain also excelled in the Air Force Marathon as a member of a team from Sheppard, finishing in first place Sept. 15 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.