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Detachment 2 NCO out to win XTERRA championship in 2008

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Chris Hoyler
  • 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  It can start with a 1,000 meter swim under dark skies of an oncoming storm, one that will cause two foot swells in the increasing choppy water. 

After that, it can be a 20-mile mountain bike trek up a terrain so difficult that one has to get off their bike and push to complete the trail. 

The capper is a six-mile run in which hurdling downed trees and avoiding knee-destroying ditches is commonplace. 

For some, this would be a weekend in hell, something that would put their body out of commission for months. 

For Staff Sergeant Jonathan Kiley, it's a weekend retreat after a week of work at Pope. 

The aerospace ground equipment instructor for the 373rd Training Squadron here is one of the up and coming stars on the XTERRA off-road triathlon circuit, an endeavor that involves almost year-round training for a 7-month season that starts April 1 and ends in late October. 

"XTERRA is the main circuit for off-road triathlons," Sergeant Kiley said. "There's no circuit in the world quite like this one. There are races all around the world. 

"An off-road tri consists of typically a 1,000 meter to 1,600 meter swim, then typically you transition to mountain bike portion, which is anywhere from 10 to 23 miles. After that you have between a 5K (approximately 3.1 miles) and 7-mile trail run." 

That is what Sergeant Kiley spends his free time training for. It's a process so demanding that he has to spend his lunch hours at Fort Bragg's swimming pool three to five times a week, then after work either trail run or mountain bike for one to three hours. Or, he could do both activities in the same night. 

"I'll run a 3-mile trail and then mountain bike 20 miles or so, then I'll go run again," Sergeant Kiley said. 

He said that everyone in his squadron is very supportive of his athletic endeavors, but sometimes unit physical training will cause him to have to make up some training later in the day. 

"If it's a run day (at PT), then I have to make up for running later on," Sergeant Kiley said. "It can drain me and make my training later on worse, so I have to try to pick it up a notch, maybe adjust my schedule." 

Last season, Sergeant Kiley's schedule consisted not only of racing on weekends, but also planning the inaugural XTERRA Smith Lake race at Fort Bragg. 

The process for planning the race, which took place on May 27, 2007, began in October 2006, when Sergeant Kiley approached management at Smith Lake about holding an XTERRA race. 

"I said 'Hey, you've got this lake here, you've got this trail system, I think it would be a perfect spot for an off-road tri," Sergeant Kiley said. "They thought it sounded cool, so I went ahead with it." 

Getting the location for the race was merely the beginning. Next on the agenda was getting the race on the XTERRA 2007 season schedule and securing sponsor for it. Then there was a lot of paperwork to go through the legal office at Fort Bragg. 

"We had to push really hard to get it done," Sergeant Kiley said. "They didn't realize it took more than a month to get this organized." 

The last logistical issue was getting the event certified by USA Triathlon, which he did, making himself the official race director. 

When the logistics were set, Sergeant Kiley went about compiling participants for the race and setting up the course, something he could not do on his own. 

"I got about 30 volunteers from Pope to help out, which was really good," Sergeant Kiley said. 

He received the most help from his wife, Caroline, who was out with him preparing the 8-mile course from the beginning. 

"I definitely could not have done it without my wife keeping me in line," Sergeant Kiley said. "I think I spent just as much time maintaining the trail as I did training on it."
There was a slight set back in January 2007, when one day he set out to continue trail preparation, only to discover logging had occurred. He had no notice of this, so it came as a huge shock. 

"So we had to clean debris; it was basically me and my wife, we cleaned the entire trail, all 8 miles of it," Sergeant Kiley said. "It took us about a month and a half to get it back to normal, so that was another little downside to having the event on base." 

In between preparation, Sergeant Kiley started to round up participants for the race.
Just three weeks before the Smith Lake race, a race was held in Uwharrie, N.C. 

Sergeant Kiley finished eighth in that race (second in his age group), but less than 50 people participated. 

Sergeant Kiley more than doubled that number for his race, with 110 people from 10 different states, from Connecticut to Florida, showing up to spend their Memorial Day weekend at Fort Bragg. 

"The event as a whole was a success," Sergeant Kiley said. "We did really well, and most of those people weren't Army or Air Force. There were a few, but not as many as you'd think." 

This year, the Smith Lake race will be held again on Memorial Day weekend, May 25, but Sergeant Kiley has a different plan. 

"I've stepped down; I'm going to be the race co-director, so I can race in the event for one," Sergeant Kiley said. "But I'm not going to be here forever, so I wanted somebody else to go over and make sure the event lived on." 

Sergeant Kiley will split the race directing duties with the new manager at Smith Lake, Marilyn Flynn. It's a process he doesn't sound like he'll miss. 

"I probably lost a couple of years off of my life due to stress but having something this big turn out successfully was truly amazing," Sergeant Kiley said. 

This year, Sergeant Kiley's focus will be almost completely on racing. His goal is to be the regional champion and to qualify for the World Championships in Hawaii, which takes place on October 26. 

"I've missed (regional champion) the past two years by one spot," Sergeant Kiley said. "I'm trying to create time deficits from the last two years." 

He's already started to increase his base fitness, going on longer runs and bike rides, and he plans to sign up for a half-marathon and regular half-triathlon this year to improve his endurance. 

But he says the most important part of his impressive 2007 season and goals for 2008 is the support he received from his family, sponsors and supporters, including GU Energy Gel and "The Bicycle Shop" in Fayetteville. He's hoping the story of his experiences will inspire others to get out and give it a try. 

"I hope that this will motivate those wanting to compete for there first time or those wanting to just get out and do something," Sergeant Kiley said. "It is truly an experience to be had and it will change your life."