MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Maj. Bryan Kelly, Air Force Fellow, combined his love for running and the serving by representing the Air Force in the Armed Forces Marathon, October 30, 2018, in Washington D.C..
The Armed Forces Marathon Championships, which was ran during the Marine Corps Marathon, is an affiliate with the U.S. Olympic Committee and fosters comradery and promotes physical fitness through competitive team sports.
“I take a lot of pride in representing the Air Force at these events,” Kelly said. “They present an opportunity to step out of the daily grind and link up with other service members who share the same crazy passion for running and physical competition. We all have very diverse backgrounds, which makes for unique camaraderie and a lot of fun both during and after the event.”
Kelly’s running abilities have secured him a spot on the Air Force team three years now. However, running has not been a longtime passion for him. Kelly said he ran in high school, but it wasn’t until he was in his late – 20’s when he discovered his talent for distance running. From then on, he trained until his running times were competitive enough to make the team.
“The team was always the goal once I found out about it,” he said.
The Air Force major completed the Armed Forces Marathon Championships in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 46 seconds, putting him in 25th place out of 20,707 finishers. Then on Dec. 2nd, 2018 he set a new personal best of 2 hours, 34 minutes and 52 seconds at the California International Marathon.
In addition to training for the Armed Forces Marathon, Kelly has also been working alongside leading members of the science and technology community at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as a part of the Air Force Fellows program.
The Air University Air Force Fellows is a highly selective program that allows Air Force officers to embed in civilian institutes or key government agencies or departments to advance their education on national security policy.
“The IDE fellowship program is hands down one of the best deals in the Air Force,” Kelly said. “It has been great to immerse myself in the lab culture, wear civilian clothes and share a DoD perspective where applicable.”