Airmen participate in Boston Marathon attack response run

by Senior Airman Timothy Moore
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

4/19/2013 - DAVIS-MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz.  -- Service members from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and their families participated in the Team Red, White and Blue-Tucson's Boston Marathon Attack Response Run at Reid Park in Tucson, Ariz., April 17.

The run was organized by Team RWB as a way for the Tucson community to show its support for the people affected by the Boston Marathon bombings.

"Our founder and CEO, Mike Erwin, a major in the [U.S.] Army, sent out a call Monday evening saying, 'Hey, it would be great if we could show our support for the people of Boston, show our resiliency as Americans.'" said Harry Roberts, Team RWB Tucson chapter captain.

Approximately 50 people attended the event to show their support.

"We just joined [Team RWB]," said Capt. Yvonne Nollman, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern). "We wanted to do this with the organization as our first run, showing our support for America."

Nollman and her husband, Senior Master Sgt. Eric Nollman, 355th Fighter Wing Command Post, both participated in the run completing three miles.

"I think it's important for veterans and everybody else to get out that we are still united," Nollman said. "Something like this isn't going to put us down. We are going to be running with the flag today to show that you can't beat us down. We are going to be resilient."

Numerous chapters of Team RWB across the nation have already held response runs this week, with more planned for Saturday.

One run was led by Brennan Mullaney, two-time Iraq veteran and Team RWB Boston chapter leader. Mullaney ran 25 miles of the Boston Marathon before being stopped after the attack. He led one of the first response runs Tuesday afternoon.

"It's important just to help show people that we care right away," Roberts said. "The immediacy of the issue was a part of it to show them that we care."

Roberts said he was surprised and grateful to see the support the response runs have received through people participating on short notice or through media coverage.

"It's pretty cool to see people coming together," Roberts said.

Team RWB is a national organization whose mission is to "enrich the lives of America's veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity." For more information about Team RWB, visit teamrwb.org.