Community corner: 13.1 miles of joy

Editor's note: Stories from community contributors will appear here and in The Gazette from time to time. If you'd like to  be a contributor, contact J.R. Ogden at jr.ogden@TheGazette.com

By Roger Reed

As the old saying goes, “when opportunity arises, seize the moment.”

I had the unique opportunity to spend 13.1 miles with my daughter, Kaitlin, at the Des Moines half marathon on Oct. 16th. To completely understand this story, we have to rewind a year-and-a-half.

Kaitlin is a soldier in the Iowa Army National Guard. She is an MP with the 234th BSTB. In April 2010, she received her orders and would start training for her deployment to Afghanistan in the fall of 2011. As a 19-year-old college freshman, these were not the orders she was looking for, but it was her mission.

She spent the summer of 2010 with the rest of the Iowa troops training in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Mississippi and California. In October 2010, she departed for Bagram, Afghanistan. The feeling her mother and I had as she departed were ones of great trepidation and uncertainty. Seeing your daughter in battle gear and ready for combat is not exactly what we envisioned as her parents.

“How would she return? If she returned at all ...”

As her year of deployment progressed, Kaitlin found herself in the PT (Physical Training) tents in between her missions as security detail to various outposts. This exercise became a stress release and a way to pass the time. Kaitlin was a multisport athlete at Starmont and I had the unique privilege to coach her in two sports, so being in shape was nothing new to her. As her time in Afghanistan lengthened, so did her running distances. We mailed her new running shoes twice!

In the meantime, her dad and older sister, Meredith, a senior at Northwestern College in Orange City, were preparing to run our first half marathons together. In October 2010, we shared a special day and finished the Des Moines half together. But we couldn't stop thinking about Kaitlin because she was supposed to be running with us.

We notified Kaitlin of our success and she assured us that she would be back for the 2011 half and we could then run together. Well, sometimes funny and unpredictable things happen in a year's time. Meredith was married in June 2011 and they are expecting their first child later this year. Kaitlin returned from her deployment in July 2011. Her mother, Kristy, and I and the rest of the family were filled with much joy and relief. What a sight to behold.

Fast forward to Oct. 16, 2011. Kaitlin and I arranged to meet in Nollen Plaza in downtown Des Moines at 7:20 a.m. to start our warm-up. The weather was fantastic. High 40s with a little breeze. At 7:50, nature called. We thought we better find the portables. We did and we also found the line to be so long we knew there wasn't enough time to wait so we headed three-and-a-half blocks south and found relief in a vacant portable.

Heading back to the start, we had two minutes until the gun. Feeling a bit frantic, we were looking for our pacer flag and could not find the 2-hour (pace) flag. But we did find the 1 hour, 50-minute flag. Not knowing if this was where we really wanted to be, we had no choice now because the gun went off and we were running.

The pace was comfortable to start. It took us about three quarters of a mile to get some elbow room. Plenty of time to chit chat and talk about our training. Four miles into the race, the course splits. Marathoners to the right and halfs to the left. We were headed south out of downtown to Waterworks Park. I dreaded this 5-mile open field loop and hoped Kaitlin would help me get through it.

Mile after mile, we met some other interesting people and got to know our pacer, Kevin. This helped to break the monotony and speed our time. We were still hanging with the group. This was good. We got to the 7-mile mark feeling pretty good. Kevin did a fantastic job of encouraging our group.

Mile 9 and out of Waterworks. Next was a beautiful loop around Gray's Lake. A quarter mile bridge over the water was a highlight. I was starting to feel a little tension in the hamstrings and Kaitlin in her hips, but we still were in good shape. Right on pace.

Out of Gray's Lake and headed north to the finish. Kevin hit the go button here and said we had to push mile 10 to insure a proper finish. We did and we held strong. Mile 11 found us and we found mile 11. It was a fairly steep incline over a bridge. Not exactly what the quads needed at this time. Up and over, quads burning but 2 miles to the finish.

Kevin encouraged us to “let go” if we felt good. Kaitlin was strong and dad was feeling it. The next two miles we spent pumping each other up for a strong finish. Mostly Kaitlin trying to get her dad to go.

Mile 12 to 13 was a test for me. We slowed down a bit to gather some strength for our final push to the finish. We made a hard left turn north into a stiff head wind but we could see the finish line.

The final three blocks were filled with cheering fans. We could sense the end. I took one last look at my watch and we down shifted into what I thought was a good sprint to finish, 30 seconds to break 1:50. As we approached the finish line I grabbed Kaitlin's hand and we crossed together in 1:49.50.

Hands held high in a brief moment of triumph, gratitude and joy. A big hug and a kiss for Kaitlin followed as our timing chips were cut from our shoes and our finishing medals were draped around our necks.

What followed for me was completely unexpected. A very large lump in my throat that I couldn't swallow. Living a year without your daughter knowing she is in harm's way and then being able to share a moment like this doing something together that you both love was an unforgettable moment.

You see, the opportunity was there and I had just seized it.