Selah, WA Support Troops and Community Connection in the Howard’s Medical Army Base Race – Half-Marathon, 5K Run and Walk

Saturday, September 19, 2015

The runners bounced in place, bobbing up and down at the starting line. A few stretched their arms across their chest and swung their arms back and forth. The excitement was building as the man on the speaker horn counted down. The bang of the race commencement was loud and booming; the Yakima Police Department firing an old-fashioned cannon, for the sake of military demonstration. An Army air-ambulance helicopter came chopping over the starting line at 300 feet, adding to the patriotism and excitement of the race beginning. Hundreds of runners, including over 100 Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers, took part in the fourth annual Howard’s Medical Army Base Race during a break in Operation Rising Thunder exercises, Sept. 19, 2015.

Operation Rising Thunder (ORT) is an annual bilateral exercise between Japanese and US forces that has brought hundreds of Japanese soldiers to train for three weeks at the Yakima Training Center (YTC), located in Selah, WA, 180- miles East of Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The ORT training event includes individual, squad, platoon, company and battalion live fire exercises culminating with a combined live-fire event. Exercises, like ORT, “contribute to increased interoperability and partnership between American and Pacific nation armies,” said a spokesman for the Yakima Training Center.
Annually, YTC also champions the Howard’s Medical Army Base Race half-marathon, 5K run and walk. Proceeds of this year’s event benefits Cottage in the Meadows with Memorial Hospice and the Wounded Warriors Project. The race follows a scenic course from beautiful downtown Selah to the Yakima Training Center and with beautiful 70-degree temperatures; this year was picture-perfect.

Once the crowd of runners rounded the corner, I hopped into the passenger seat of the Jeep Wrangler, my mother and boyfriend accompanying me. We drove the race-way path, looking to see and understand the entire length of the race. Neon green camouflage-patterned t-shirts skirted the edges of Selah roads for miles, exemplifying the strong community support of this event. We blasted a playlist of running music and shouted encouragement as we passed families, couples, soldiers and seniors. Groups of Japanese soldiers ran in rhythm and cheered as we passed by, extending a mutual greeting and positive cultural exchange.

We reached an intersection, blocked for the race, but continued support for the runners and walkers. As we approached the finish line at Carson Park, we smelled the barbecue cookout that volunteers had prepared for the runners, supporters, and military groups present. The Explosives Ordinance Disposal team displayed their vehicles, tools and technician suits for the public to explore as well as other military-grade tanks, which were bursting with curious children. Several groups from the Yakima Training Center were present, bringing the community together to support our troops and their efforts at our local training facility.
Although attendance was down from previous years, support was evident in the helping hands, volunteers, and combined police forces that were present along the route through town. Pride and patriotism rang loudly throughout Selah on Saturday. The Howard’s Medical Army Base Race helped me recognize and identify a closer sense of community to those in my community, the military soldiers and families stationed at YTC, and even the soldiers from the Pacific Rim.

Learn More about Operation Rising Thunder HERE.