Bergesons continue family tradition of running Army Ten-Miler
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BERGESON FAMILY — Dale Bergeson of Colfax and his daughters, Megan (on left) and Tabatha (on right), ran the Army Ten-Miler in Washington D.C. on October 8. —photo submitted
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Dale Bergeson has done it again.
Bergeson, of Colfax, and his two daughters, Megan and Tabatha, ran the 39th Army Ten-Miler together in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, October 8.
Bergeson has run in the Army Ten-Miler for nearly 30 years.
The Colfax Messenger reported in the November 10, 1994, edition that Bergeson was one of 13 Wisconsin Army National Guard members running in the tenth annual Army Ten-Miler race October 16 at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
While this year was the Army Ten-Miler’s 39th race — it was Megan’s first Army Ten-Miler.
Tabatha has been running the race with Dale for a number of years.
There were 26,000 runners in the race in Washington, D.C., Bergeson said, which is somewhat fewer racers than in previous years.
The Army Ten-Miler website indicates that runners can submit 2023 “virtual runner results” and that the Army Ten-Miler virtual edition race is being held remotely between October 8 and December 31, 2023.
Bergeson said he was “hobbling along” because of a sore toe and that Megan wanted to wait for him so they could finish the race together.
“I told her to finish the race and that I would reach the finish line sooner or later,” he said.
Tabatha, Bergeson said, wanted to beat her previous personal best.
Major Dale Bergeson is an Aeromedical Physician Assistant (Retired).
The 10-mile race begins at the Pentagon and continues along the National Mall and other historic landmarks before ending up back at the Pentagon.
The race is run each October in Washington, D.C.
“Attracting over 35,000 runners and 900 teams from around the world, the Army Ten-Miler, (ATM) exemplifies the Spirit of Sport and the Spirit of a Nation. Participants include military, civilians, wheelchair athletes, and wounded warrior athletes. ATM’s mission is to support Army outreach, build morale and promote physical fitness. Over 900 soldiers and 900 volunteers support the Army’s ‘world class’ ATM race. Now in its 39th year, over 459,685 runners have run the ATM since its inception in 1985. ATM is a category-B Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) event open to the public. All race proceeds benefit MWR programs. To date, ATM has generated over $8 million for Army MWR,” according to the Army Ten-Miler website.
“All registered runners must complete the in-person race event on the day of the event, in-person in under two hours and 30 minutes from the start of the last wave. Runners are encouraged to run at a 15-minute-per-mile pace,” the website states.
Because there are so many runners, the Army Ten-Miler is run “in waves” that begin every certain number of minutes. Each runner receives a race bib color according to the wave in which he or she starts the race, Bergeson said.
Bergeson, age 72, finished the race in 2:25:29 — in spite of his pain.
Megan Bergeson finished the race in 2:19:34.
Tabatha O’Keefe finished the race in 1:21:58.