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Vandenberg Airmen excel at Marine Corps Marathon
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Two Vandenberg Airmen, from the 392nd Training Squadron and the 2nd Range Operations Squadron here, were the first and ninth persons to cross the finish line during the 35th Annual Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 31.
On the morning of Halloween, 2nd Lt. Jacob Bradosky, a 392nd TRS intercontinental ballistic missile student in training, finished the 26.2-mile footrace, which began at the Arlington National Cemetery, in first place with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes, 30 seconds.
Trailing close behind was 1st Lt. Jason Brosseau, a 2nd Range Operations Squadron deputy flight commander, who finished in ninth place with a time of 2:32.28.
The Vandenberg Airmen completed the race ahead of more than 21,854 fellow participants.
"It felt absolutely awesome," said Lieutenant Bradosky, a native of Centerville, Ohio. "It was a real honor to represent the armed forces as part of the Air Force Marathon Team."
Lieutenant Bradosky reached a number of milestones during the Marine Corps Marathon including his first marathon win, first time competing with the Air Force team and he earned a personal record by shaving 20 seconds off his best marathon time.
"I put a lot of hard work into training for the marathon and had to make some sacrifices, but to know that it all finally paid off was very exciting," Lieutenant Bradosky said.
The Marine Corps Marathon is a competition in which the Air Force sends its best runners to compete against the toughest competitors from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps.
"Last year, the Air Force won the competition, so we had a lot of pressure to perform this year as well," said Lieutenant Brosseau. "As it turns out, we brought our A-game and won the competition once again!"
Prior to the Marine Corps Marathon, the Vandenberg Airmen were seasoned veterans having both a number of marathons under their belts. Lieutenant Bradosky had participated in five marathons including the Seattle Marathon, Wash. (2007), Boston Marathon, Mass., (2008, 2009 and 2010) and the Air Force Marathon Half Marathon (2010). Lieutenant Brosseau competed in the Marine Corps Marathon (2009) and the Air Force Marathon (2010).
Even after competing in six marathons, Lieutenant Bradosky does not plan to slow down any time soon.
"I have not yet reached my prime years as a runner and will continue to compete in races throughout my Air Force career," Lieutenant Bradosky said.
Lieutenant Bradosky has identified two competitions he would like to enter in the near future including the 2010 USA Cross Country Championship in Spokane, Wash., and the 2011 Boston Marathon. Lieutenant Bradosky's ultimate goal for long-distance running is making the 2012 Olympic trails.
Like Lieutenant Bradosky, Lieutenant Brosseau is also currently training for the 2011 Boston Marathon in April.
"I've set some high expectations for this race," Lieutenant Brosseau said. "Something new leaning toward my favor is that I just got a new training partner (Lieutenant Bradosky)."
Lieutenant Bradosky, who is new to the Vandenberg area, and Lieutenant Brosseau plan to take advantage of the time and opportunity they have to train together while in such close proximity.
"We've been talking to each other a lot lately about training together and it looks like we'll benefit big-time by working out together," said Lieutenant Brosseau. "Because training for the marathon takes both speed work on the track and longer threshold work on the roads, I can't wait to see how much we both improve by working out with each other!"