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Star athlete joins troops in 9/11 run

When Maj. Davy Godfrey and Maj. Larry Seward of the Army’s 1st Sustainment Brigade began their planning, they never imagined more than 1,600 runners, 100 volunteers and famed ultra-runner Scott Jurek would line up for the 5 a.m. starting gun at the Durable Brigade 9.11 Kilometer 9/11 Remembrance Run at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait City.

The run was organized to honor those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001, and those who have been wounded or lost their lives in the wars since.

Godfrey, the brigade’s human resources operations branch chief, and Seward, financial management officer, ran the 18-mile Fort Riley Bataan Death March qualifier together in Kansas, taking second and third places in their category.

With the initial 9/11 race concept in place, Godfrey, the race director, contacted Jurek about leading the run and doing meet-and-greets with the troops. The USO made Jurek’s trip possible, and he talked running, answered questions and shared meals with troops throughout Kuwait.

“Major Godfrey was so enthusiastic about fitness that I couldn’t turn him down,” Jurek says. “Plus, it was inspiring for me to run with our troops and draw from their experiences.”

Godfrey hopes the unit that replaces the 1st Sustainment Brigade will host the same run in 2011, the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.