Blog - Dayton Strong: A Passion for Running, Ohio, and AFM’s very own, Brandon Hough
Dayton Strong: A Passion for Running, Ohio, and AFM’s very own, Brandon Hough
I love telling this story because I think of the world of USAF Race Director, Brandon Hough.
I was born in Dayton, Ohio and at age 11, we all moved to Florida. I lived in Florida until I joined the Air Force and I now live in Georgia. My Dayton “roots” run deep and I have fond memories of Wright Patterson AFB, the Air Force Museum and Dayton as a whole. I too am Dayton strong.
“My Dayton “roots” run deep and I have fond memories of Wright Patterson AFB, the Air Force Museum and Dayton as a whole. I too am Dayton strong.”
I have always been a runner, so I thought it only proper to have the USAF Marathon be my first race. The first year I signed up and trained..Hurricane Irma changed everything. The very next year…the dreaded “Black Flag” race occurred. Last year I finally did it…and every year from now on..I will be in Dayton!
“Last year I finally did it…and every year from now on..I will be in Dayton!”
It was at the Black Flag race (at the expo), and I met Brandon Hough. What’s the first thing I asked him? “Have you ever run this race before?” After we both laughed…and I realized WHO he was, I asked him as much as I could about the race. He patiently answered every question and I walked away feeling as if I met a god. Fast forward to the “end” of the black flag race and having rode on “the bus of shame,” (I reached mile 19) who was at the chute as we all got off the bus? Brandon. I’ll never forget it. Brandon told every one of us that this was not our fault and we should run the chute and finish the race! I did-but it was bittersweet.
Fast forward a few months later and as fate would have it, Brandon and I were both racing at the Chickamauga Marathon in North Georgia. When I finished the race, who gave me my finishers medal when I crossed the finish line?? Brandon Hough!! This man is a class act and I think the world of him. The USAF Marathon brings out the best in me, the race makes me a better person and a better runner!
“The USAF Marathon brings out the best in me, the race makes me a better person and a better runner!”
Written by: Scott Routsong
Related Pages:
Leave a Comment