Road to Bataan

I have 5 states left to complete my 50 state journey of marathons across this great land.  This year, my plan is to tackle New Mexico, Wyoming and Alaska.  Next year I will finish the states and possibly DC with Montana, Hawaii and DC.  Of course I will sprinkle a few others across the landscape as well, like Miami, Cincinnati and Baltimore this year.  I am sure there will be another one or two and possibly and ultra.

The Bataan Memorial Death March is foremost on my mind right now.  I will use Miami as a supported long run and a heat acclimation run.  I don't do well in humidity and heat so I will progress in Miami at a leisurely  pace enjoying the sights and sounds and putting another $26 in the bank of DRM.  I'm there for a conference so I might as well run!

It is hard to comprehend what occurred in Bataan, Philippines in 1942.  Here is an excerpt but a simple search will give you all the historical details necessary to understand this atrocity.

The Bataan Death March, which began on April 9, 1942, was the forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of 60,000–80,000 Filipino and American prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II. All told, approximately 2,500–10,000 Filipino and 100–650 American prisoners of war died before they could reach their destination at Camp O'Donnell. The reported death tolls vary, especially among Filipino POWs, because historians cannot determine how many prisoners blended in with the civilian population and escaped. The march went from Mariveles, Bataan, to San Fernando, Pampanga. From San Fernando, survivors were loaded to a box train and they were brought to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.The 128 km (80 mi) march was characterized by wide-ranging physical abuse and murder, and resulted in very high fatalities inflicted upon prisoners and civilians alike by the Japanese Army, and was later judged by an Allied military commission to be a Japanese war crime.  The Japanese failed to supply the prisoners with food or water until they had reached Balanga. Many of the prisoners died along the way of heat or exhaustion.[5] Prisoners were given no food for the first three days, and were only allowed to drink water from filthy water buffalo wallows on the side of the road. Furthermore, Japanese troops would frequently beat and bayonet prisoners who began to fall behind, or were unable to walk. Once they arrived in Balanga, the overcrowded conditions and poor hygiene caused dysentery and other diseases to rapidly spread among the prisoners. The Japanese failed to provide them with medical care, leaving U.S. medical personnel to tend to the sick and wounded (with few or no supplies)

 The Bataan Memorial Death March is a challenging march through the high desert terrain of White Sands Missile Range, conducted in honor of the heroic service members who defended the Philippine Islands during World War II, sacrificing their freedom, health and, in many cases, their very lives.  There are two routes; a marathon route and a shorter 14 mile route.  There are many different categories as well related to the military and civilian populations.  There is also a wounded warrior category for service members maimed in battle.  I'll be running the civilian light division.  The heavy division requires runners/marchers to carry 35 pounds in their ruck sack.  I'm already carrying 35 pounds in additional weight so I thought that adding more would not be advisable.  There are still survivors of the Death March from 1942 and all will be present in New Mexico.  You can shake hands and tell them thanks for their valued service.  I would suspect that 2/3 of the marchers will be from the military.  It will be quite an event.

It also appears to be one tough event, sandy desert roads, ankle deep sand in what is termed the "sand pit", warm temperatures, and blowing wind (hmm, is that redundant?  I mean, if there is wind, it must be blowing!)  Maybe I should say wind that can blow sand into your face at 30-50 mph.  OK, that's more of a visual.  It is also hilly with one stretch being 7 miles long, uphill.  What is hard to comprehend is that many of our soldiers experience this daily in the middle east wars. The telling toughness of this event, being a marathon distance, is that the cutoff is 13 hours, which is more than most 50 mile events.  I need to set a goal to make sure I am challenged accordingly.  I'm running most marathons now between 4:10 and 4:40 given the day.  I would like to set a goal of a 6 hour marathon at Bataan.  I'm not even sure that will be achievable.  I won't be disappointed no matter what the time ends up being.  This is a true life experience event to pay tribute to our military, to show our gracious thanks to the Bataan survivors, and to challenge myself to do something for those in need.  My one constant at every marathon, really every running event, even my daily runs is the support of my wife-to-be, Cynthia.  She will also be the one to document the event with her photographic art.

I'm sure there will be more writing about Bataan in the coming weeks but for now, I am on the Road to Bataan.

Today Day 14: 4 miles; 2014: 85 miles