For the love of the run

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Michael Washburn
  • 355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Take a walk in the thrift shop here and you're bound to find interesting trinkets and items aplenty. From books, movies and games to retro clothing, the thrift shop has all sorts of intriguing items. Talk to any of the employees that work there and you'll find they're just as interesting and unique themselves.

Ms. Nancy Rickert, the thrift shop bookkeeper, certainly fits the bill. She recently qualified and completed the Boston Marathon. She placed eighth in her age group and was one out of two women from Arizona to complete it.

"I started running 35 years ago in 1975," Ms. Rickert said. "Running the Boston Marathon has always been a long term goal of mine, I just thought I would never achieve it. But when I ran a marathon last year and qualified for the Boston Marathon, I decided I had to do it because it's one of the most prestigious marathons that I can think of. I wanted to try it and hopefully finish."

Getting to run the Boston Marathon is a victory in itself. Not just anyone can decide that they want to run, runners need to qualify in order to race.

"Those looking to race in the Boston Marathon need to run a marathon at least 18 months in advance and have a qualifying time," Ms. Rickert said. "If you qualify, you can sign up to race when they open up registration. Then it's all about training for the race."

Training for the Boston Marathon is crucial and is what Ms. Rickert considers to be the hardest aspect of the marathon.

"Training is long and grueling," Ms. Rickert said. "I trained for three months before the marathon and it's the same training program I used when I trained for the Marine Corps Marathon. I ran five to six days per week, slowly building up the amount of miles per week. I started running six mile runs by the end of the week and built up running 20 mile runs. I then tapered off and let my body recover from the training before the actual marathon."

"When I trained, I tried to run at a pace that was a little faster than when I was running the marathon because then I knew that when I ran it, I would be able to finish in my targeted pace of a 10 minute mile," Ms. Rickert said.

With any marathon, there are bound to be challenges, both physical and psychological. The Boston Marathon is no different. On the physical front, the Boston Marathon is considered to be one of the harder marathons because of the Newton Hills.

The Newton Hills are four hills that begin at the 16 mile mark of the marathon. The last of the four hills is the most notorious and is known as heartbreak hill. It's between the 20 and 21st mile of the race and has a vertical rise of only 88 meters, but because it's located so late in the race, muscle glycogen - molecules that function as energy storage - are usually depleted. When this happens, it's what runners call hitting the wall.

"The hardest part of the marathon to me was Heartbreak Hill," Ms. Rickert said. "I was determined to make it through the marathon without having to stop."

Though there is something that keeps her going when she just wants to stop.

"The entire 26.2 mile course is lined with about 500,000 spectators," Ms. Rickert said. "That's definitely motivation because everyone is cheering for you the entire way, it's an adrenaline rush."

Not only is Ms. Rickert a marathon runner, she has also opened up her own 24--963hour fitness center, Anytime Fitness.

"I came out to Tucson seven years ago to retire," Ms. Rickert said. "I've always needed to keep myself motivated and busy, so retirement didn't work and I decided to open up a fitness center, it's right in line with what I like to do. Where I live, there isn't a fitness center in the neighborhood, so I decided to open one there."

Even though she qualifies to run next year, Ms. Rickert is unsure if she is going to race.

"I'm going to think about it," Ms. Rickert said. "It would be a nice goal to try and beat my time. Maybe run a nine and a half minute mile. I'll wait until the registration opens and then decide."

With the growing number of PT failures in the Air Force, some Airmen may need some inspiration to improve their fitness level. Ms. Rickert's success with running the Boston Marathon should inspire all Airmen to take steps in increasing their level of fitness and reaching their goals.