{"id":8296,"date":"2023-05-07T17:53:57","date_gmt":"2023-05-07T17:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/?p=8296"},"modified":"2023-05-30T17:54:39","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T17:54:39","slug":"md-army-guard-captain-clinches-spot-on-all-guard-marathon-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/2023\/05\/07\/md-army-guard-captain-clinches-spot-on-all-guard-marathon-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Md. Army Guard Captain Clinches Spot on All-Guard Marathon Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Major Brendan Cassidy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Army Capt. David Buchanan (running, foreground), commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, qualifies for the All Guard Marathon Team at the Lincoln Marathon in Lincoln, Neb., on May 7, 2023. More than 200 National Guard Airmen and Soldiers from across the country competed for spots on the All Guard Marathon Team. (Nebraska National Guard photo by Lt. Col. Kevin Hynes)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

LINCOLN, Neb. – In three hours and six blistering minutes, Maryland Army National Guard Capt. David Buchanan, commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, secured his spot on the All-Guard Marathon Team at the 46th Annual Lincoln Marathon, May 7, 2023.

Buchanan\u2019s four months of preparation ensured that he hit his goal and then some. His pace was 15 seconds faster than the 7:20 per mile cutoff throughout the 26.2 mile-footrace.

\u201cBeing surrounded by National Guard racers helped foster the competitive environment and camaraderie that the organization is all about,\u201d said Buchanan. \u201cI am very excited to share blood, sweat, and tears with these fellow Guard runners for the next two years.\u201d

To complete his racing goals required Buchanan to miss some of the unit\u2019s annual training at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. Still, he credited his unit\u2019s training achievements to his soldiers who took on more responsibility while he was at the marathon.

\u201cThe fine NCOs and leaders of the 58th EMIB HHC stepped up and accomplished the mission well above the standard,\u201d said Buchanan. \u201cTheir ability to self-sustain and bring execution from intent paved the way to the mission success of our company’s annual training.\u201d

While nine minutes longer than the fastest of his three marathons thus far, Buchanan capitalized on his 6\u20195\u201d frame and years of distance running to cross the threshold among more than 200 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia.

A career military intelligence officer, Buchanan has served 14 years in the National Guard between four different units and deployed overseas with Task Force Spartan in 2021. He attributes his military time as a source of physical fitness, discipline, and perseverance but recognizes the role his family played in his success too.

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have done this without my wife and kids for sacrificing so many long mornings without me as I trained.\u201d Buchanan said. \u201cFamily support and faith have been great sources of inspiration.\u201d

Buchanan first began marathon training while running with a close friend and neighbor.

\u201cI have been told \u2018To give less than your best is to sacrifice the gift,\u2019\u201d said Buchanan of his friend\u2019s advice. \u201cMy neighbor\u2019s guidance and training plan were key in starting marathon running.\u201d

Runners who qualified for the All-Guard Marathon Team will travel to many more races over the next two years throughout the United States and possibly abroad. The National Guard Military Competitions Program, which includes both a Marathon Team and an Endurance Team, exists to promote physical fitness, self-discipline, and esprit de corps among National Guard members while assisting recruiting and retention efforts at each community where they compete.

The All-Guard Marathon Team consists of 78 total members determined by the time trials: the top 51 males, top 21 females (including one Air Guard member per gender), and the top three runners of each gender in the over-50 Masters category.

\u201cIt feels incredible to make the team,\u201d said Buchanan. \u201cI have put in hundreds, if not thousands, of miles of training to best represent the Maryland National Guard to the nation. I fought back more tears of relief and happiness at the finish line than I did pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Army Capt. David Buchanan (center), commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, poses with the Maryland National Guard team prior to the Lincoln Marathon in Lincoln, Neb., on May 6, 2023. More than 200 National Guard Airmen and Soldiers from across the country competed for spots on the All Guard Marathon Team. (Nebraska National Guard photo by Sgt. Lauren Behn)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Major Brendan Cassidy LINCOLN, Neb. – In three hours and six blistering minutes, Maryland Army National Guard Capt. David Buchanan, commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, secured his spot on the All-Guard Marathon Team at the 46th Annual Lincoln Marathon, May 7, 2023. Buchanan\u2019s four months of preparation  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":160,"featured_media":8303,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/160"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8296"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8305,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8296\/revisions\/8305"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/ng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}