LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Zachary Foulk, 37th Logistics Readiness Squadron, wakes up every weekday at 4 a.m. to run before he goes into work. Currently, he is running 80 miles a week, but will soon begin running 100 miles weekly.
His dedication to the sport has earned him a place on the 2008 Air Education and Training Command Marathon Team.
He will represent AETC as an individual runner for the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, on Sept. 20.
"I'm just honored and excited," Foulk said. "I've been training really hard. I looked up the numbers from last year and based on what I've seen, I feel like I can do pretty well."
This will be Foulk's first full marathon, but he finished in third place in a half marathon in San Marcos in March with a time of 1:18.
"We were running into the wind for the six miles on an incline. That was a tough race," Foulk said.
The California native began running was he was 7 years old, and at age 14 won the state championship for the 3,000 meter run and the two-mile relay.
He relocated to West Samoa for the next three years, but returned to the United States when he was 17, resumed running and received track scholarship offers from colleges.
"I was on top of the world at 14 and was pretty devastated when I moved away," Foulk said. "After high school, I had to financially support myself, so I stopped running for a while."
Six years passed but in 2006, running found a way to creep back into Foulk's life.
"I went to an Air Force recruiter and he told me that if I wanted to join the Air Force, I had to lose some weight."
Foulk neared 200 pounds when he walked into the recruiter's office. He began dieting and exercising and met the required weight. Foulk's running routine has brought his weight down to 145 pounds, which is what he weighed in high school.
"Running just brings everything into focus for me. It gives me time to think about my problems and world issues and I just want to see how far I can take it," Foulk said.
Foulk, who has been stationed at Lackland since February 2007, has kept up running even through a deployment to Balad, Iraq, and hernia surgery.
"I didn't get to train like I wanted to while I was deployed, but as soon as I got back I did several 10K and 5K races," Foulk said.
While facing San Antonio's hot temperature can make it tough to train for a marathon, Foulk believes it will give him an edge.
"The humidity is definitely a factor. After just one mile you can barely breathe, but actually I think training in these conditions will be an advantage, because in Ohio it will be less humid," Foulk said.
Even though, running at 4 a.m. makes it hard for Foulk to juggle school and his college classes, he is looking forward to the Air Force Marathon and hopefully earning a spot on the Air Force Track and Field team.
"Really for me, I'm kind of chasing a dream," Foulk said. "I feel like I can be really good. I'm nowhere near where I want to be but I just want to see how far I can take it. I think this is a great opportunity to represent AETC and run a marathon."