USAF Marathon makes history Published Aug. 21, 2009 By Kathleen A.K. López Air Force Materiel Command Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Registration for the 13th Annual United States Air Force Marathon has exceeded last year's total participation, making this the largest field in the history of the service's largest participatory athletic event. A weekly registration release, on Fridays, shows that as of Aug. 21, 7,412 runners are registered. Last year's total Marathon registration number was 7,400. Scheduled for Sept. 19, the USAF Marathon offers more than just a 26.2 mile race. There are half-marathon and 10K races also run on Sept 19. The courses take runners through the historical grounds of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, downtown city streets of neighboring Fairborn and the campus of Wright State University. All races begin and finish at National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. Additionally, a 5K race will be run the evening of Sept. 18 on the WSU campus. For the past three weeks, an average of more than 700 people have signed up weekly for one of the races. "This is just phenomenal," said Molly Louden USAF Marathon director. "It's a true reflection of how the Air Force's race is perceived in the running world. We are excited to host a record crowd this year." The current figure to date is more than 2,000 more than this time last year. The 13.1 mile half-marathon already has more participants than last year's final total for that category. The race category breakdown for 2009 numbers thus far is as follows with 2008 total registration numbers in parentheses. Total number of registrants as of Aug. 21: 7,412 (7,400); Marathon, 2,154 (2,179); Visually Impaired Division: 1 (new division); Wheeled Division: 8 (12); Half-Marathon, 3,465 (2,871) 10K run: 1,005 (1,312) 5K run: 779 (1,026) Pasta Dinner tickets: 745 (765). If you would like to be part of this history-making event, visit www.usafmarathon.com and follow the prompts.