Going to Extremes: Airmen conquer 3,000-plus meter high mountain

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  • 31st Communications Squadron
AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy --  Names: Tech. Sgt. Donnie Gray, 40, and Staff Sgt. Ryan Lucia, 30 

Unit: 31st Communications Squadron 

Event: Dolomites SkyRace--21 kilometers 

Date: July 19, 2009 

Location: Canazei, Italy 

Online event link: http://www.dolomiteskyrace.com/index_inglese.asp 

Results: Sergeant Gray finished 135th of 548 participants with a time of 2:36:01 and Sergeant Lucia finished 346th with a time of 3:05:37. 

Purpose:  To prepare for the 2009 Air Force Marathon held at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, every September.

Course details: This event was the third European Skyrunning Championship and was hosted in Canazei in the fabulous Italian Dolomites where some of the world's best skyrunners will battle for the European title. Previous Championships were held in Poschiavo, Switzerland, and last year in Zegama, Spain, where 15 European nations participated.  The course in Canazei, one of seven skyraces in the world, takes runners from a 1,450 meter starting point above sea level up a long and grueling vertical climb to a peek at 3,152 meters before winding back down to the finish. This year, the course had to be shortened to 19.7 kilometers due to summer snow storm the day before which made the course even tougher. This spectacular race embodies the skyrunning concept to perfection: the quickest way from a town to the summit of a mountain and back--artificial means excluded. The men's record on this course stands at 2:04:53 and the women's is 2:30:17.
 
Going to Extremes--What's your story? 

The 31st Fighter Wing public affairs staff is looking to hear from military and civilians assigned to the base who participate/compete in extreme activities in Europe.  If you've trained and finished some sort of eco challenge, full triathlon, ultra marathon, or some other type of an event which pits man or woman versus the elements, the 31st FW/PA staff would like to hear from you.  

Submissions must include your full name, age, event name/date/location, if available--the link to the official event website.  You can also state the reason why you chose to do the event, how you trained/prepared for the event, and describe your actual experience having completed the event.  Submissions are limited to 300 words.  To submit your story and photo, send an email to 31fw.panews@aviano.af.mil.  

Editor's note:  The 31st FW/PA staff reserves the right to edit, format, and approve/disapprove all submissions.