Beck's Blog 3-St. Patrick's Day in Antarctica

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Beck
  • 349th Civil Engineer Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  March brought with it the excitement of the St. Patrick's Day fun run. It's a marvelous 5 K run, set against the backdrop of the brightly lit Antarctic sky, with sun bursts through the clouds and just a hint of light breezes. The ground was dusted with virginal snow blown down from night drifts. The temperature was a brisk 17 degrees as the field of 14
runners and walkers assumed their positions at the starting gate. The uniform of the day was green and yes, there was a prize for best St. Patrick's Day presentation, go green! With the crack of the starting gun we were off, through the streets of McMurdo. No crowds cheered us on, all you could hear was the heavy breathing and sound of snow
crunching underneath our feet, as we made our way towards the Scott Base summit, our halfway point.

Of course by the time we reached the halfway point, the light breezes were full blown wind gusts, restricting visibility to within a few feet, and dropping the temperature another 10 degrees. The cold air stung as it entered my warm body and the dripping of my nose would instantly freeze as it breeched my nostrils, little ice cubes accumulating on my mustache. The enthusiasm of all the runners and support crews inspired me to dig deep as my muscles tried to convince my brain to just rest, walk a little, catch your breath and start again, but I pushed through. With the end in sight everyone's pace increased. Mine had to resemble a drunken turtle walking on egg shells, every step was intentionally placed to reduce the possibility of me slipping and looking a fool. The gallop I broke into did just that, pretty funny . The finish line was a welcome sight as I gingerly wiped sweat crystals off my frozen hair that was in danger of breaking. The warm Shamrock cider was welcome and refreshing even though it resembled Penguin pee, it still was warm. All in all, I came in second place, and wore my red ribbon throughout the day like a badge of honor, announcing to all my accomplishment. Boy, what a run!