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The most difficult marathon
By Brad Sacca, KC5SKE & Alex F. Burr, K5XY
On the 1st of April, the Mesilla Valley Radio Club, Las
Cruces, NM, helped provide communications for the Bataan Memorial Death
March marathon. This marathon may well be the most difficult in the world.
With over 3,200 participants from 45 states and five countries, it certainly
is the largest event with which the MVRC is connected.
Held as a memorial for the event which took place at the
beginning of WWII, the marathon covers 26.2 miles of high desert starting
at 4,000 feet and climbing over 1,000 feet to circle a mountain, crossing
arroyos and deep sand, before returning to the starting point at the headquarters
of the White Sands Missile Test Range.
The preliminary information sent out by the organizers warned
that, besides the possibility of unexploded ordinance along side the trail,
the local wild life came complete with fangs, claws, and in some cases
poison. One paragraph said "If you have a medical condition É
please legibly write down the information, place it in a zip lock bag
and pin the bag to your marching outfit. That way if you are one of the
dozen of so people each year who pass out on the route, we have then a
better idea of how to care for you." They said last year about 150
participants got so dehydrated they required IV's and about 400 participants
had severe blisters requiring medical treatment.
One of the important duties of the radio club members was
to help ensure that the medical aid and those needing it got together.
To do this Hams were stationed at each of the 13 water points and medical
stations spaced out along the course as well as at the command post. The
furthest distance between Hams was about eight miles. All communications
were carried out on 146.550 MHz simplex with a power of between 1-10 watts.
This 2M operation proved to be extremely reliable.
Brad Sacca, KC5SKE, who organized the amateurs, was the
first to arrive at the command post at 5:15 a.m., with the other communicators
arriving at their posts soon thereafter. The first messages soon started
to come in. The first "crisis" involved sending range personnel
to unlock a back gate so the volunteers could get to waterpoint 7 and
to locate the missing water cans and shelter. About an hour after the
6:30 a.m. start, the calls for serious medical aid started. Hams handled
medical aid requests which ranged from blister troubles to chest pains,
a broken ankle and heat stroke. Other messages involved participant locations,
lost items, and re-supply issues.
Even the Hams' cell phones were used by the participants
to phone family members reporting that they were running late and in one
case to call a locksmith when a search for a lost car key on the course
came up empty handed. That result was not unexpected because the key was
most likely lost during the first three miles and was probably trampled
on by several thousand feet.
Not only did the club provide much needed communications,
but some of the Hams and their spouses got involved in other ways.
Richard Johnson, KC5EVR, and his wife Charlotte, KC5KWI,
pitched in and handed out cups of water and fruit when their waterpoint
was overwhelmed with participants. Jim Leverett, WA2NIJ, and Joe San Filippo,
WZ5R, shuttled five gallon cans of water between waterpoints when the
tanker at their point ran dry.
Brad, KC5SKE, was one of the last to leave at 7 p.m. after
almost 14 hours. That made a pretty long day, but all of the Hams enjoyed
the operation and many said they were eager to come back next year.
The amateurs and friends who provided communications included
Bill Hickey KD5IKT; Bill Barnett, KC5QHZ; Richard Johnson, KC5EVR, Charlotte
Johnson, KC5KWI; Ted Hipkins, W3FFB; John Beakley, WK5C; Jim Leverett,
WA2NIJ; Marnie Leverett, KA2FVO; Joe San Filippo, WZ5R; Lou Cabot, KC5IEC;
Joe Ostrowski, KI5FJ; David Glasscock, KD5MAT; Bruce Bryant, KC7ENB; Jennifer
Sacca, and Brad Sacca, KC5SKE.
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