Friday the 30th was a tough day. It was to be Sgt Harrington’s memorial ceremony in Basra and just 6 days after his passing. We were standing down for the day, allowing soldiers time to remember Sergeant Kyle J. Harrington and everything he brought to our lives.
But I thought, why not join in the British Fun Run, being sponsored to raise money for wounded veterans? Brightening the day just a little is something Sergeant Harrington was good at! The course was 5.6 kilometers, so here I am just after the course, near the finish line.
I didn’t know what it meant when it was advertised as “fancy dress” – there are some serious translation issues here with the British! It turns out, fancy dress means wear a costume. I wore my "Bass Pro Shops" USA T-Shirt (Get it? Major Bass??) and for soldiers, anything other than strict Army PT clothes or the new digital cami-ACU uniform is a huge variance. But the truly courageous ran in gladiator outfits, some a little too revealing, and cardboard tank cutouts. Everybody got a nice t-shirt, and it started the day off with a smile.
You can see the dust and rain starting to kick up as the race wrapped up:
