Page 12 - Chiron Autumn 2016

Canine Half Marathon Relay
By Pte James Hanford, 102 Military Working Dog Squadron
On 2 June 2016, 1st MWD Regiment held a canine half marathon team relay event at Normandy Barracks, Sennelager. Hosted by 102 MWD Squadron, the event was designed to raise funds for the Army Benevolent Fund. With lots of organisation and planning, all three squadrons and all working dog capabilities were represented.
The race was a relay, with four team members and dogs running the 1.1 mile course around Chiron Lines, three times each. The cross country course, which involved running through woodland over natural obstacles, had been made even more challenging with very heavy rain over the previous three days. With 64 runners and dogs, the race was started by the Commanding Of cer, Lt Col Stephen Foreman, at 1000 hours. The race took approximately two hours for all teams to nish, with Army photographers and BFBS reporting as well as all three Squadrons cheering. The nal standings were 1st place: 102 MWD Squadron, 2nd place: 105 MWD Squadron and 3rd place: 104 MWD Squadron, although each squadron had a team nishing in the top three, demonstrating how well matched the squadrons were.
The following day, the of cial award ceremony was conducted by Lt Col Foreman and Major Ken McIntosh, Of cer Commanding 102 MWD Squadron,
with certi cates and medals being presented. To celebrate the success of the event, there was an evening BBQ for all participants and organising staff. This was also a great opportunity for all three squadrons to socialise as well as raise further contributions towards the Army Benevolent Fund.
The Regiment’s canine half marathon was a fantastic event (especially as 102 MWD Squadron won!), which we will look forward to repeating next year.
Pte Murden and MWD Vroom
Half Marathon Relay – Start
Army Sprint and London District
Triathlon Championships
By Pte Jack Chapman, 104 Military Working Dog Squadron
On a cold and wet Wednesday morning in May, 1st MWD Regiment triathlon team competed in the Army Sprint Triathlon Championships at Dorney Lake, Windsor. Despite the weather, our spirits were not dampened as we arrived to see nearly 200 fellow Army competitors from many different Corps and Regiments preparing for the event.
The rst stage of a Sprint Triathlon comprises a 750m swim followed by a sprint to the transition stage where competitors put on cycling gear and mount bikes for a 20km race. This leads to another transition stage where the bike is left and competitors begin the running phase for a 5km run to the nish. For me the nal running stage was always going to be the most challenging.
During our training we recognised there was a range of abilities in the team but we had all committed to supporting and motivating each other during the race. This was demonstrated throughout the race, where words of encouragement were shared, boosting our morale and performance. I felt no matter who you were, or where you came from, competing
in sport showed that we could all contribute equally in a team.
Our team, SSgt Ben Leach, WO2 Gary Rutherford, LCpl Alex Farquhar, Pte Chris Stokes and Pte Natalya Markovitch and myself, all gave maximum effort and performed well with nal positions ranging from 29th to 157th out of 190 competitors. No matter where we placed, we all shared the exhilaration of accomplishing such an achievement. For me, the Championships were a great example of different units connecting through a sporting event. This was also a great opportunity to demonstrate our tness and endurance against other army units and it also helped in building our Regiment’s triathlon team cohesion.
Based on the immense sense of achievement afterwards, I would recommend this event to anybody who wanted a challenge, like me, to experience a sprint triathlon for the rst time. The 1st MWD Regiment team will be competing in an upcoming Olympic Triathlon event (consisting of 1.5km swim, 40km bike, and 10km run) and are already in training as a team in preparation for this.
12 Chiron Calling