Next year (2025) marks the beginning of the Semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the American Revolutionary War, and I’ve decided to attempt to run all of the Armed Forces Series Challenge for 2025 (with a friend) as a way to celebrate the Semiquincentennial anniversary of the Revolutionary War, and to honor those who fought so hard for our freedom and our future country. This series consists of three marathons and 2 10-Miler runs, for a total of 88.6 miles.
The potential schedule is as follows:
My first professional run was the the Firecracker 4 (4 miles) in Saratoga Springs in 2022 with the same friend that I will be doing this challenge with. At the start of that race, we had the privilege of seeing one of the flags that flew over Ground Zero. I’ve run this every year since then.
In 2023 we ran the Army Ten-Miler, which runs through Washington, DC, and that was quite a thrill. Running to the sound of a howitzer going off and being cheered on by spectators all throughout the city was amazing.
I was also able to run the Space Force T-Minus 10-Miler in 2023. Although it was more like a run-walk as I was pretty sick for that. Still, being able to run around an area that has so much space history, and being able to run a circle around Launch Complex 14, where John Glenn became the first American to go into orbit, was surreal.
The series won’t be easy. First, I’ve never run a marathon, so that will be the first hurdle. Luckily, I have plenty of time to train as the first marathon isn’t until March. Second, two of the marathons will likely be a month apart, with a 10-Miler in-between them. While this looks to be doable, it will definitely be some strain on the body.
I’ll be using Garmin as my training planner and have already started running more frequently and based on their training recommendations. The official training plan for the Coast Guard marathon begins September 9 with the base phase.
Will keep everyone updated!
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