By: Army Maj. Carol McClelland
1st Theater Sustainment Command, Public Affairs
Camp Arifjan, Kuwait – For the past five years Capt. Dan Pearson has celebrated each Air Force birthday at mess dress balls filled with dancing, dining and decorations. This year he spent it in the dry, hot desert but doing the thing he loves most—running.
Pearson was the first Airman finishing today’s 5K fun run that marked the services 61st year since separating from the Army. Open to all services, the race reflected the camp’s joint-make up with an Army female winner, followed by a Navy sailor. Pearson finished third overall and first for his age group at 19 minutes, 4 seconds.
But the 3.1 miles he ran today was only a blip in his log book. It bumped up his total miles since he deployed here in late April to 645. Pearson is in Kuwait for a six month tour of duty as a communication liaison for the Army’s Central Command.
“I like logging in the miles,” the 27 year old said. “You can see over long periods of time if you’re getting better and it’s surprising to see how far you’ve gone.”
Pearson has improved. He ran a 5K race only a couple of weeks after arriving and finished in the middle of the pack. A month later he ran another and finished third. And now he’s looking forward to running in the Army’s 10-mile run at a nearby camp Oct. 5.
“I think I’m a little bit better at the longer distances,” said Pearson who averages 7 to 10 miles daily. Preferring to run outdoors rather than on a treadmill, the most he’s run in one week is 51 miles, typically taking a break on Sundays.
And what does he think of during these lengthy distances? “Running faster,” the soft spoken officer responded.
The Andrews AFB, Md. Airman whose been running since high school, has had to adapt his obsession to the deployed environment. He begins his run about 5:45 a.m. to evade triple-digit temperatures, and he learned how to run on dirt, through dust storms and high humidity days. He’s also found it wise to stock up on running shoes, having gone through four pairs already.
“The other ones I threw out were dirty and dust-colored with some of the material starting to rip and the treads pretty worn down. They were almost destroyed,” he admitted.
Pearson , an Air Force Academy graduate, is used to having goals. He expects to run more than 800 miles by the time he finishes this deployment but also wants to run a marathon or triathlon some day.