Trio of siblings to run this year's AF Marathon: 445th AES reservist to be joined by sisters in their first full marathon: Part 1 of 2

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Serving as a volunteer for the 2010 Air Force Marathon inspired a reservist assigned to the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron to participate in this year's 2012 Air Force Marathon scheduled for Sept. 15 with his two siblings.

Tech. Sgt. Joseph Valenzuela is running in the marathon with his two sisters, Juliet Valenzuela, an Air Force veteran now living in Florida, and Master Sgt. Jackie Duarte, 548th Operations Support Squadron, Beale Air Force Base, Calif. All three have never run a full marathon before.

"I started training for the marathon in December. My real training began in May when I started a strict running regimen dedicated specifically for the marathon," Joseph said.

Joseph trains four days a week running between 26 to 31 miles weekly. He ran 22 ½ miles Sept. 1 for one of his longer runs leading up to the marathon.

Joseph's wife, Senior Airman Cindy Valenzuela, who's a member of the Air National Guard working at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center here, is running the half marathon.

As for his sister, Juliet, she said running in the Air Force Marathon has always been one of her "Bucket List" items since she was in high school. Although it's her first marathon, Juliet said she's always been a runner.

"When Joseph called to ask if I'd run the 2012 Air Force Marathon with him, without hesitation I said, 'Yes,' and started training the next day," Juliet said.

Juliet added that she has always loved running, running her first mile when she was in sixth grade.

"My PE teacher said I was a natural runner and should continue that path. With her confidence in me and seeing my father run, I decided to run. I ran high school cross-country plus both indoor and outdoor track for three years, averaging 60 miles a week during high school. After high school I joined the Air Force and ran the Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, 5K race back in 1999, placing first in my category and third overall," Juliet said.

For Jackie, her love of running came about when she joined the Air Force and was preparing for basic training. Since then, she's participated in many 5K runs. She completed a sprint triathlon in 2010 at Beale that consisted of 16 laps, a 6-mile mountain bike ride and a 2-mile run, placing first in her category.

"I began preparing myself for the Air Force Marathon in March. I started off running two to three times a week, running 3-5 miles and doing CrossFit training in between. I ran my first half marathon in May, which was a wake-up call that I needed to get more conditioned. I relooked at my training schedule and decided to change it up. My new schedule had me running five days a week. It varied with easy, tempo, sprint, hill, and long run. As the weeks progressed, so did the miles. I dropped CrossFit and added yoga to my routine," Jackie said.

Jackie was motivated to run in this year's Air Force Marathon not only because she was inspired to run with her siblings but also for her health.

"We will be the first in our family history to complete a full marathon. Running next to two of my family members who have and are still serving our country today is priceless. I'm also running because I want to motivate my family to get on the path of a healthy lifestyle," Jackie said.

For Juliet, preparing and training for the marathon has been a lifestyle change that began in mid March 2012.

"I did lots of marathon research and read articles from running books and magazines. I spoke to friends that have already completed full marathons for their insight. I then developed a marathon training schedule that best fit my running history and started training.

"Besides running, I had to change my eating, drinking, and sleeping habits. My nutritional intake increased to a lot of fish, chicken, vegetables, and increase of carbs (pasta, rice, and bread) to give me the fuel and energy my body needed while cutting back on sweets. I've also had to cut back on having a glass of my favorite red wine to drinking a lot of juices, Gatorade, and consuming two gallons of water on a daily basis. I get to bed early on nights before my really long runs to ensure I have the full energy and rest that my body needs to take on the complete body impact from running for the duration of my runs," Juliet said.

She went on to say, "I've obtained the necessary running equipment best fit for me to include a couple different pairs of running shoes, proper socks, hat, clothing, etc. It has been challenging to sacrifice late nights and get up early many mornings to beat the heat to run, but I do it and receive nice support from my boyfriend, David. He rides his bike alongside me, carrying my water supply and any else I need for my runs. As for my training, I've been blessed throughout my training so far as I've only lost one toe nail (really gross) and got some blisters on my toes, but otherwise the training has made my body feel great, toned, and healthy. My doctor reviewed and compared my lab results last year and said that I was in great health and if I keep it up, I'd live to be 120-years-old."

When Jackie starting her training regime, she began tracking her mileage. By June she was up to running 104 miles, which consisted of five long runs, three hill runs, six tempo/sprint runs and two easy runs.

"I wake up as early as 4 a.m. to get my running done. I didn't want to overdo it so by August I cut back on my running, allowing me to have more recovery time," Jackie said.

As the Air Force Marathon nears, all three siblings are training hard but separately at their home station. They call each other weekly with updates about their running progress and encourage each other. They also have the encouragement of their loved ones.

"My husband Rudy has helped me train by riding his bike next to me during long runs. He has kept me going when I would hit a wall," Jackie said.

The Valenzuela siblings saw each other for the first Sept 13 after many years of being apart. They will reunite with their parents, Oscar and Dolores Valenzuela, their brother, Oscar Valenzuela, Jr., Sept. 14.

"My family of seven lives all over as we are spread out between California, Kansas, Ohio, Georgia and Florida. It'll be great to see my parents, brothers, and sister during this time as everyone is flying to Ohio to watch us run the marathon," Juliet said.

Editor's note: This is part one of a two-part series on the Valenzuela siblings participating in the 2012 Air Force Marathon.