Wing senior enlisted finishes Boston marathon

Published May 5, 2014
By Michael Golembesky
21st Space Wing Public Affairs staff writer

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- With the memory of the Boston Marathon bombings still fresh in the public's mind, many were unsure what to expect for the 2014 running of this immensely popular event. For one member of Team Pete, running and finishing the race was not going to be a missed opportunity.

Chief Master Sgt. Richard Redman, 21st Space Wing command chief and avid marathon runner, set a goal to complete the race, and posted a time of 3:20.56 in this year's Boston Marathon April 21.

"This year was very special--after the bombings last year--all the ceremonies, all of the events and more than a million people lining the course," Redman said. "I can tell you, a lot of things get built-up big in your mind but this one definitely exceeded my expectations. It was amazing."

"Boston Strong" was the theme of this year's race, not allowing the tragic events of last year to overshadow or diminish the energy of this city-wide celebration. But a marathon is still a marathon, pinning runners against the clock and themselves.

"It is the most elite of all of the marathons in the world, the highest qualifying requirements and for runners, it is the Super Bowl of marathons; on every runner's marathon bucket-list," said Redman.

The Boston Marathon marked Redman's ninth marathon, and once he qualified for the race in March 2013 in Virginia Beach, he focused on checking another box on his bucket list; Boston.

"I have run Tokyo and others, but Boston is the elite of the elite, you can't just sign up to run in Boston," said Redman. "This was my first Boston (marathon), this was going to be my Shangri-La. Two-years ago I realized that I had a chance to qualify; 'I can do this' I thought to myself. I set the goal--I was going to qualify for Boston in 2013. I trained through the winter, through every nasty type of weather you could think of to run in."

After all of the training and preparation was complete, all that was left for Redman to do was to fly to Boston with his wife, await the sound of the starting gun and run 26.2 miles.

"After what happened last year, I will tell you that once you started to make your way into the city of Boston, no one could erase the thought of what happened here just a year ago. The sheer number and magnitude of the crowd along the course was overwhelming. I was giving high-fives the whole time," said Redman with a laugh.

With a finishing time of 3 hours, 20 minutes and 56 seconds, Redman was pleased with his performance but was more satisfied by the experience and the memories created.

"I really took the time during this race to enjoy and cherish the moment; all of the work was just getting to Boston," said Redman. "The actual race was just me enjoying the ride, that's what I told everyone I was going to do -- enjoy the ride."

Chief Redman runs Boston Marathon