Skip to content
Menu
SethKramer.com
  • Running
  • Travel
  • Junk and Stuff
  • About
    • About Me
    • Where Am I?
SethKramer.com

Bataan Memorial Death March

Posted on March 25, 2018July 24, 2019

Finished today at the Bataan Memorial Death March civilian heavy division (carrying a 35lb ruck) in just under 7 hours. Making it my second slowest marathon finish. I really don’t have a benchmark for this sort of thing. So, it is neither good, nor bad. It’s just a thing. On a related note, if you have never done this event, I have two pieces of advice: (1) Do it, and (c) maybe try once before you decide to go heavy, unless you’re an idiot such as myself, who apparently likes suffering. Not a lot went right this trip, but enough did that I come away from this experience in a slightly better place. Still processing a lot of the details. But in the mean time. Not so fun fact: in the real Bataan Death March about 60-80,000 Filipino and American service members, starved from three months plus of combat in siege-like conditions would be forced to march as much as 66 miles without food or water from Japanese captors taught that everyday cruelty is acceptable behavior even within their own ranks, and with too few resources to support their POWs. Men too slow we’re bayoneted, or shot. They were crammed into railroad cars that would take them to under resourced prison camps for years, and in some cases loaded onto “hellships“ and sent to Japan to function as slaves. I’m tempted to make some larger point about war, but what the hell do I know? I went to some peacenik school. I’ve never served. I’ll just say this: we have some really tough characters who have volunteered to protect us. We owe it to them to give very serious thought to situations that would put them in harm’s way.

The hiking viking? Any relation to Anders?
Cadre of maniacs
You can’t be serious…
Some of the beautiful New Mexico mountains.
Two guys horsing around
A bit of the sand pit. I have to say I prefer Fort Lauderdale’s sand.
The shirt modeled by a tired fool in a rental car.
Bib
“Join the army,” they said. “See the world,” they said. I’d rather be sailing…
This is maybe not the right race for that…
Angela is bright eyed and bushy tailed. I look like I’ve just woken up.
The first weigh-in of my pack had it at 55 pounds. Apparently Seth sucks at estimating almost as much as rucking. This time comfortably at 38. “Comfortably,” used in this context, is meant to be ironic.
Always phenomenal to see Ila.
Dog tag medal given beforehand. If you want a conventional medal. You’ve come to the wrong race.
Surprise! GEORGE!
Pascal makes it look easy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Mississippi Blues 2020
  • Hawai’i 2020
  • More travel, less running
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • 2019 Year-In-Review

Recent Comments

  • Seth on Mississippi Blues 2020
  • Robert Nielsen on Mississippi Blues 2020
  • Mary Yeh on Pikes Peak Marathon 2016
  • Seth on Pikes Peak Marathon 2016
  • Mary Yeh on Pikes Peak Marathon 2016

Archives

  • May 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • March 2015
  • May 2014
  • September 2013

Categories

  • Running
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
©2023 SethKramer.com | Powered by SuperbThemes & WordPress