WEBVTT 00:03.840 --> 00:05.840 Hi , I'm Captain Ed shank . I'm the 00:05.840 --> 00:08.200 public affairs officer for task force 00:08.200 --> 00:10.200 Joshua . First of the one oh eighth 00:10.200 --> 00:12.311 Field Artillery . I'm from Harrisburg 00:12.311 --> 00:15.640 pennsylvania started , I spent 20 years 00:15.640 --> 00:17.696 in the air force and like we used to 00:17.696 --> 00:20.610 say we ran only when chased . I would 00:20.610 --> 00:22.721 run a mile and a half once a year for 00:22.721 --> 00:24.721 my annual physical fitness test and 00:24.721 --> 00:26.943 that was about it . I joined the army . 00:26.943 --> 00:29.110 I started running a lot more . Uh , we 00:29.110 --> 00:31.054 used to run through the streets of 00:31.054 --> 00:33.221 Harrisburg when I worked at division . 00:33.221 --> 00:35.332 Um , and we would run through all the 00:35.332 --> 00:37.610 towns and along the river . And I 00:37.610 --> 00:40.110 actually began to like it a lot . I 00:40.110 --> 00:42.277 started running with an ipod so that I 00:42.277 --> 00:44.388 had something to keep me occupied And 00:44.440 --> 00:46.530 before I knew it , I was running the 00:46.540 --> 00:49.290 army 10 miler in Washington D . C . And 00:49.290 --> 00:52.170 here I am attempting to run a marathon . 00:52.180 --> 00:53.460 Can Taji Iraq , 00:55.340 --> 00:57.450 a good friend of mine , Lieutenant 00:57.450 --> 01:00.690 Jeromy Arnett kind of shamed me into 01:00.700 --> 01:04.620 doing this . I , He said , Hey , you 01:04.620 --> 01:06.453 just turned 40 years old and you 01:06.453 --> 01:08.620 haven't run a marathon yet . How would 01:08.620 --> 01:10.842 you like to have your first marathon in 01:10.842 --> 01:13.009 Iraq ? That would be something to tell 01:13.009 --> 01:15.120 your Children about . So , he uh , he 01:15.120 --> 01:17.009 kind of shamed me into doing it , 01:17.009 --> 01:19.250 played with my ego a little bit and all 01:19.250 --> 01:21.650 right , I'm crazy enough to just try it . 01:24.120 --> 01:26.231 My wife is actually the runner of the 01:26.231 --> 01:29.460 family . She will run on a treadmill in 01:29.460 --> 01:32.230 the gym with an ipod on or watching 01:32.230 --> 01:34.380 television for like three hours 01:34.380 --> 01:36.900 straight and I just I thought she was 01:36.900 --> 01:38.956 crazy . I still think she's a little 01:38.956 --> 01:42.380 nuts , but now that she hears that I'm 01:42.380 --> 01:44.940 running at an actual marathon , she 01:44.940 --> 01:47.218 thinks I'm the crazy one in the family . 01:47.440 --> 01:51.120 Uh yeah , miles 01:51.130 --> 01:53.297 is much further than I thought I would 01:53.297 --> 01:56.860 ever run at one time in my life . Uh 01:57.540 --> 01:59.707 when I used to run through the streets 01:59.707 --> 02:01.484 of Harrisburg with , when I was 02:01.484 --> 02:03.207 stationed at the division , uh 02:03.207 --> 02:05.429 Lieutenant Colonel Cory Lake was one of 02:05.429 --> 02:07.429 the pack that I would run with on a 02:07.429 --> 02:09.651 daily basis . Uh He's kind of a big guy 02:09.651 --> 02:11.540 and he doesn't really look like a 02:11.540 --> 02:13.596 runner , but that boy can run , I'll 02:13.596 --> 02:15.707 tell you uh when we told him the idea 02:15.707 --> 02:18.820 of having a marathon here to see , he 02:18.830 --> 02:21.650 was totally supportive , he's , you 02:21.650 --> 02:23.817 know , he wants his men to be in shape 02:23.817 --> 02:26.039 first of all , so that was kind of a no 02:26.039 --> 02:28.520 brainer for him . But he also , he's 02:28.520 --> 02:30.890 just very supportive of pushing 02:30.890 --> 02:32.660 yourself to your limits . 02:34.540 --> 02:36.860 When I first started running in Iraq , 02:36.870 --> 02:39.830 I didn't run very far . Uh the roads 02:39.830 --> 02:42.560 here are kind of dangerous . We've got 02:42.570 --> 02:45.520 striker vehicles run alongside running 02:45.530 --> 02:48.240 up and down the roads constantly . Uh 02:48.250 --> 02:50.583 you know , kicking up gravel as they go . 02:50.583 --> 02:52.639 Uh there's really not a whole lot of 02:52.639 --> 02:56.470 space for anybody to try to run . It's 02:56.470 --> 02:59.750 very rocky , it's just not a good place , 02:59.750 --> 03:01.750 You don't see a whole lot of Iraqis 03:01.750 --> 03:03.917 running marathons and there's a reason 03:03.917 --> 03:06.610 for it . Uh , but since then I started 03:06.610 --> 03:08.740 training on weekends with , with a 03:08.740 --> 03:10.851 group of people and on Saturdays , we 03:10.851 --> 03:12.880 do our long runs and uh , you just 03:12.880 --> 03:16.190 kinda it up and and do it and uh , you 03:16.190 --> 03:19.980 know , we did a 20 mile Route a 03:19.990 --> 03:22.720 couple weeks ago and I couldn't believe 03:22.720 --> 03:25.240 that I actually ran 20 miles and I 03:25.250 --> 03:27.139 didn't fall over dead or anything 03:28.840 --> 03:30.896 before I got to Iraq . I didn't know 03:30.896 --> 03:32.951 what was gonna be like , I thought , 03:32.951 --> 03:35.007 you know , we're gonna have to dodge 03:35.007 --> 03:37.229 incoming mortars and rockets and things 03:37.229 --> 03:39.340 like that , you know , snipers out on 03:39.340 --> 03:41.451 the perimeter . It's not like that at 03:41.451 --> 03:43.451 all . Things are really common down 03:43.451 --> 03:45.562 here in Iraq , which is really good . 03:45.562 --> 03:47.729 We're turning things over to the Iraqi 03:47.729 --> 03:49.396 police and Iraqi army and the 03:49.396 --> 03:51.618 government of Iraq and they're starting 03:51.618 --> 03:53.784 to take care of their own , you know , 03:53.784 --> 03:56.650 the insurgents are not gone , but they 03:56.660 --> 04:00.150 are not attacking as frequently as they 04:00.160 --> 04:03.010 did before . The challenge . It's 04:03.010 --> 04:05.177 amazing . I came the whole way to Iraq 04:05.440 --> 04:08.210 thinking The challenge was going to be , 04:08.210 --> 04:10.154 to stay alive . But you know , the 04:10.154 --> 04:12.099 challenge for me right now is just 04:12.099 --> 04:16.080 making it 26 miles . Uh , 04:16.090 --> 04:18.312 since I started running with the army , 04:18.312 --> 04:20.590 I , I probably dropped about £20 . Uh , 04:20.590 --> 04:22.590 I was a schoolteacher in inner city 04:22.590 --> 04:25.990 Harrisburg and uh , you know , didn't 04:25.990 --> 04:28.140 do a whole lot of exercise at all . I 04:28.140 --> 04:30.196 was just exhausted at the end of the 04:30.196 --> 04:32.140 day and I just want to go home and 04:32.140 --> 04:34.196 drink a couple beers and watch tv on 04:34.196 --> 04:33.580 the couch .