Hill Airman among first in Air Force Marathon Published Sept. 18, 2007 By Capt. Genieve David 75th Air Base Wing Public Affairs HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah -- An Airman from Hill was the among first military males to finish in the 11th Annual Air Force Marathon, hosted at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Sept. 15. Second Lt. Michael Haugen, a mechanical engineer from the 501st Aircraft Sustainment Squadron, under the 508th Aerospace Sustainment Wing, started training for his first-ever marathon in April this year. According to a press release from Air Force Materiel Command, Sept. 17, the recent graduate of the University of Portland, Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 695, and resident of Roy, Utah, won the military men's category with 2:31:11(unofficial time). "It was definitely a new experience," said Lieutenant Haugen about his first marathon. "It feels good to have accomplished this. I try to do the best I can ... have something to strive for and help others to achieve their goals too." In a more recent press release from AFMC, the electronic timing system unofficially identified Lieutenant Haugen as the top placing military male marathoner. However, once official results were determined, Lieutenant Haugen finished second among military runners and seventh overall at 2:36:00. The marathon course started and finished at the National Museum of the Air Force, tracing a path around the historic Huffman Prairie Flying Field where the Wright-Brothers mastered the art of flying and trained the military's first aviators. Runners were treated to a steady stream of flyovers by Air Force aircraft during the marathon events, which included a wheel-chair marathon, marathon, 4-person relay and half-marathon. More than 6,300 people participated in all marathon events, in addition to the more than 2,000 event volunteers. While Lieutenant Haugen claimed the last three miles of the 26.2 mile marathon were the most painful and gruesome, he is proud to announce that he is now qualified for the prestigious Boston Marathon and has plans to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon slated for Oct. 28. "The key is to prepare and plan ahead," said Lieutenant Haugen. " Put in the work ahead of time and reap the rewards." For more information or to view photos on the 11th Annual Air Force Marathon visit the Wright-Patterson public Web page at www.wpafb.af.mil . For complete results, visit www.usafmarathon.com Derek Kaufman, 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs contributed to this story.