BAGRAM, Afghanistan –
While thousands of athletes turned out in the heat for the Boston Marathon on Patriot's Day, a group of real patriots ran their own marathon that same day on the dusty streets of Bagram, Afghanistan.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Anthony J. Agbay, deployed from Langley Air Force Base, Va., finished sixth in the Boston Marathon Military Shadow Run, sponsored by the Boston Athletic Association, which began at 3 a.m. Bagram time to match the timing of Boston's marathon.
"I had never competed in a race longer than a 10K, so jumping all the way to a 26.2-mile marathon was quite a challenge," Agbay said.
He is a diagnostic radiologist who was selected for a full medical scholarship. He was sworn in to the Air Force on Sept. 21, 2001, just 10 days after the 9-11 attacks.
He said he can trace his running roots back to the cross-country and track and field teams he ran with at Auburn High School. Some of his best memories are of helping his team win the league track and field championship in 1994 and three cross-country championships in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
"Dave Brodeur was a senior when I was a freshman, and we won that 1994 track championship. He and I were on the mile relay together."
Maj. David L. Brodeur was one of eight American service members gunned down on April 27, 2011, by an Afghan military officer at Kabul International Airport.
"I graduated with John Biram, who was also killed while on active duty," Agbay said.
Lt. John J. Biram, 27, a munitions systems commander, died Sept. 23, 2006, in an automobile accident while stationed in England.
Agbay continued competitive running while he attended York College of Pennsylvania, and was a Cross-Country Academic All-American in 2004.
"Unfortunately, the demands of medical school and residency made it difficult to continue running during those years," he said, though his interest in running never waned.
When he heard about the Shadow Run just eight weeks before the race, he started to prepare.
"Standard marathon training schedules recommend 16 to 22 weeks of training, but I wrote myself an accelerated training program and gave it a try," he said.
He faced several challenges: his base in Afghanistan is at an elevation of more than 5,000 feet and air quality is very poor, "filled with dust and smoke," he said.
"I had to do most of my training on a treadmill in a tent. It was grueling, but it proved to be an effective way of keeping my mind clear while deployed."
He said the original marathon was run in 490 B.C. by a Greek messenger who passed on the news that the Persians, from what is now Iran, had been defeated at the Battle of Marathon.
"Now, here I am on another battlefield, 2,500 years later, with the opportunity to attempt my own marathon. I was nervous and excited to line up with approximately 300 other military personnel and contractors. I ran with a picture of my boys that I pinned over my heart," he said.
The first two hours were run in the dark, with the silence broken only when fighter jets flew overhead during landing or takeoff, or when a military vehicle passed by.
"As daylight broke, I could make out the jagged skyline created by the Hindu Kush Mountains," he said.
Despite leg pain during the last 10 miles, he finished his marathon in a time of 3:16:10 for sixth place overall.
"The intensity of the pain in my legs was surpassed only by my sense of accomplishment," he said.
After receiving his finisher's T-shirt and medal, he washed and reported for work at the hospital, where he works closely with surgeons interpreting MRIs, CT scans, X-rays and ultrasounds.
"There are no days off during war," Agbay said. "Over the next couple of days, I read multiple X-rays of knees, ankles and feet on patients who were having a lot of pain from the marathon. One guy even had a stress fracture.
"Running may distract me while I'm here, but what really motivates me is the thought of being reunited with my family," Agbay said. "I've promised my boys that I'll coach their soccer team again this fall."