thedrifter
11-21-06, 11:23 AM
November 21, 2006
Purple Heart recipient to take on Antarctica Marathon
By Trista Talton
Staff writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — With relatively mild winters, eastern North Carolina may not be the best training ground for someone preparing to run a marathon in Antarctica.
But that’s not stopping former Cpl. Wesam Mahmoud, foreign language coordinator for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, from preparing to run 26 miles in a place far colder than where he’s been training. The Purple Heart recipient is determined to run through the pain of wounds he sustained in his right leg and foot from an improvised explosive device in Iraq in April 2004.
Why run a marathon in the coldest place on Earth?
“It’s something that I’ve never done before,” Mahmoud said. “It’s good to set goals and try to achieve them.”
Striving to reach personal goals is what got the Egyptian-born 28-year-old where he is today. His journey began while attending college at Saudi Arabia’s Imam University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and translation. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 to attend Oklahoma University for a master’s degree. Boston College later offered him a spot, and he moved east.
Two semesters later, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed Mahmoud’s status as just another student seeking higher education. He became a target of racism, he said. He couldn’t get a job. The cashier at one retail giant refused to accept his personal check.
So, he set another goal: Prove to America he wasn’t a terrorist. He enlisted in July 2002 and became an infantryman with an additional military occupational specialty of combat interpreter.
During his second tour in Iraq, the Humvee in which Mahmoud was riding near Hadithah dam hit an IED. He suffered broken bones in his right foot and shrapnel in his right leg. He finished that tour and returned for a third, but he opted against re-enlistment after four years because he could no longer wear boots.
But Mahmoud was able to slowly return to running — a half-mile, then a mile, then three miles. Now, he runs 15 miles a day. He will run the Antarctica Marathon on King George Island on Feb. 26 as one of three students representing Capella University, a Minneapolis-based online university where he earned his master’s degree and is pursing a doctorate in educational psychology.
Want to keep up with his progress? Check out Mahmoud’s blog.
www.onemarinesjourney.com/
Ellie
Purple Heart recipient to take on Antarctica Marathon
By Trista Talton
Staff writer
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — With relatively mild winters, eastern North Carolina may not be the best training ground for someone preparing to run a marathon in Antarctica.
But that’s not stopping former Cpl. Wesam Mahmoud, foreign language coordinator for Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, from preparing to run 26 miles in a place far colder than where he’s been training. The Purple Heart recipient is determined to run through the pain of wounds he sustained in his right leg and foot from an improvised explosive device in Iraq in April 2004.
Why run a marathon in the coldest place on Earth?
“It’s something that I’ve never done before,” Mahmoud said. “It’s good to set goals and try to achieve them.”
Striving to reach personal goals is what got the Egyptian-born 28-year-old where he is today. His journey began while attending college at Saudi Arabia’s Imam University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and translation. He moved to the U.S. in 2000 to attend Oklahoma University for a master’s degree. Boston College later offered him a spot, and he moved east.
Two semesters later, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed Mahmoud’s status as just another student seeking higher education. He became a target of racism, he said. He couldn’t get a job. The cashier at one retail giant refused to accept his personal check.
So, he set another goal: Prove to America he wasn’t a terrorist. He enlisted in July 2002 and became an infantryman with an additional military occupational specialty of combat interpreter.
During his second tour in Iraq, the Humvee in which Mahmoud was riding near Hadithah dam hit an IED. He suffered broken bones in his right foot and shrapnel in his right leg. He finished that tour and returned for a third, but he opted against re-enlistment after four years because he could no longer wear boots.
But Mahmoud was able to slowly return to running — a half-mile, then a mile, then three miles. Now, he runs 15 miles a day. He will run the Antarctica Marathon on King George Island on Feb. 26 as one of three students representing Capella University, a Minneapolis-based online university where he earned his master’s degree and is pursing a doctorate in educational psychology.
Want to keep up with his progress? Check out Mahmoud’s blog.
www.onemarinesjourney.com/
Ellie