Veterans Day 2012 was
the “perfect day and powerful” for a master sergeant to return to competing in
marathons.
On the exact date
three years earlier in 2009, Master Sgt. Leonor Branch, 344th Training Squadron
recruiter supervisor, suffered a seizure, forcing her to be to be inactive from
physical activity for a year.
After gradually
training to return to running competitively, she signed up for the San Antonio
Rock-N-Roll Marathon with the goal of moving forward and ditching the past.
The Chicago native
received some help when nearing the finish line as her then-5-year-old
daughter, who was cheering her mother on, ran out and aided Branch in crossing
the finish line. Her finish time was four hours and 28 minutes.
“I never expected my
daughter to cross the finish line with me,” Branch said. “That was made that
day much more emotional. Later on, when she sees that picture of her and I at
the finish line, she is going to ask questions and I am going to tell her my story,
but one way or another she is going to say ‘that’s my mom.’”
Branch seeks to add
another accomplishment to her racing resume and break her half-marathon
personal record of two hours at the third annual Joint Base San Antonio
Half-Marathon April 24.
Since the 2012
Rock-N-Roll Marathon, Branch said she has sporadically ran relay races while
focusing more on weight training due to having knee issues following the race,
which has since improved.
Branch signed up for
the half-marathon immediately after hearing about it. However, she is uncertain
about the possibility of achieving her goal.
“I haven’t been able
to run as much as my training plan says I should,” said Branch, who began
running in 2009 while stationed at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and was a member
of the United States Air Forces in Europe Marathon Team.
“At this point, I am
happy to be competing, plus I have motivated a few people from work to join me.
As long as we cross the finish line and continue motivating each other I will
feel good about the race.”
Tech. Sgt. Nicole
Turner, who has known Branch for 10 years and was stationed with her at Osan
Air Base, South Korea from 2006-2007, believes Branch will do great at the
event, describing her as a “tough competitor” who constantly sets goals.
“Everything she does
is always to the best of her abilities,” Turner said. “There is no holding her
back. She is like a lion and is dedicated to doing things as best as she can.”
To prepare for the half-marathon, the master sergeant said she runs
between three to four days a week, averaging three to four miles each day, and
performs high-intensity functional training on non-running days.
It would be a great
sense of accomplishment if she were to break her personal record, Branch added.
“I know if I really
dedicate myself to something then I can do it,” she said. “Maybe I would take a
break from running half-marathons if I break my record; then again, maybe not.
Running is in my blood and it keeps me fit.”
In the future, Branch
hopes to maintain fitness on another stage: sprint triathlon, short distance
races that are suited for competitors new to the sport.
“Resilient” was used
to describe Branch as she goes from being physically inactive for a long period
of time following her seizure to looking to compete in sprint triathlons.
“It’s up to you what
you want to do,” she said. “You can let (a hardship) takeover you and your
future or you can do something with that experience. It would have been easy
for me to say ‘boohoo, this happened to me’ and have everybody feel sorry for
me than to overcome it and do something better.”
Turner shares those
sentiments.
"Branch’s resiliency
lets me know that nothing is impossible,” she said. “Seeing her do these races
gives me hope and spiritual strength that anything is possible.”