1. The marathon, half marathon and 10K are scheduled for Saturday at the National Museum of the USAF at Wright-Patterson Air Force base. The marathon and 10K are scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. with the half marathon beginning an hour later.
2. Anyone can run (officials say roughly 60 percent of participants are civilians), but individuals must be 16 years old to participate in the full marathon. However, registration for this year’s event is closed.
3. There is on-site parking one mile from the start line at the museum, and a runner shuttle bus will begin leaving from the Nutter Center at Wright State beginning at 4:30 a.m.
4. Can’t run? No problem. All three races are walker friendly.
5. Runners can use the marathon as a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, and everyone who crosses the finish line within the seven-hour time limit will receiver a finisher’s medallion.
6. The guest speaker for the marathon will be Meb Keflezighi, a four-time Olympian and a past winner of the New York and Boston Marathons. Runner’s World named him the most influential person in running last year.
7. Among the runners will be Majr. Christina Hopper, the first African-American female fighter pilot to fly in combat. She will be representing the nearly 70,000 Air Force reservists in the marathon. Hopper is a Citizen Airman T-38 instructor pilot with the Fifth Flying Training Squadron at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
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