By
FLTLT Alison Lacey and SQNLDR Christopher Ward
THIRTEEN
Air Force “Desert Roos” have won gold in the aptly named
Labour Day 5km Formation Fun Run at a base in the MEAO.
The RAAF comprises only about 3 per cent of the base population,
sharing the heat and dust with thousands of Coalition personnel
assisting in Iraq’s reconstruction.
This didn’t stop them winning the Formation Fun Run in 27
minutes, a full five minutes ahead of the second placed team from
the US Air Force.
At the post-run presentation, where the Desert Roos were awarded
their $US300 prize money, the applause was polite but somewhat
muted and many Yanks were shaking their heads wondering how the
Aussies had managed to upstage them.
Corporal Craig “Crackers” Ewen-Crawford, the resident
RAAF PTI and a member of the Desert Roos, attributed the against-the-odds
win to three factors. First, running is part of the RAAF Physical
Fitness Test and the USAF test involves a bike test but no running.
Second, the education RAAF personnel received about fitness and
“use it or lose it” encouraged a healthy lifestyle.
Tied to this was diet and CPL Ewen-Crawford believed RAAF personnel
did a good job of balancing their carbohydrate and fat intake.
The USAF Base Commander might have been getting some tips from
Crackers because in his speech congratulating the Desert Roos
he said that “we need to get off the bicycles in the gym
and start running again so we can beat the Aussies”.
