[SR-25]

Rangers set world relay record
Troops first to complete 267.5-mile relay race

By Spc. David Foley
Fort Benning Bayonet

FORT BENNING, Ga. (USASOC News Service, Sept. 7, 2004) — Since their conception, Army Rangers have led the way through places most would avoid, and have made the impossible possible.

Now, some local Soldiers have continued that tradition in their sports endeavors.

Call it motivation, grit or determination, but three Rangers and a Georgia Tech graduate joined forces to set a world record in the Volunteer State 267.5-Miler last month.

The race, which started in Dorena, Mo., and ended in Mount Eagle, Tenn., can be run by individuals or with relay teams, and until this year, the relay race has never been completed.

Sgt. 1st Class Matt Wilson, Staff Sgt. John Sheaffer and Staff Sgt. Norm Shaver, all from the 75th Ranger Regiment, and Carl Laniak, of Atlanta, not only became the first team to complete the race, they tackled the grueling 267.5-mile course in 41:38:20, surpassing their goal of 48 hours.

"We figured that if we went non-stop, we could finish in two days, but nobody thought we could do it so we wanted to prove them wrong," Wilson said.

"We heard of other relay teams who failed in the past and we decided we weren't going to be those guys," Sheaffer said.

He said they relied on their Ranger training and camaraderie to give them the mental advantage necessary to complete the race.

To achieve their goal, the team worked out a schedule which let the runners pass the baton every 10 miles, giving them a chance to rest and prepare for the next leg of the race.

"The stop-and-go 10 miles had your legs feeling like they had rigor mortis for a mile or so, but we enjoyed every minute of it," Wilson said.

The idea to trade off runners every 10 miles was very successful during the first half of the race, he said.

The team completed the first 100 miles in 13 hours and had such a strong lead over their competitors, the race officials couldn't locate them until the next morning.

With the exception of a few alterations, the team continued to trade off every 10 miles until they reached the 210-mile mark, where they started passing the baton every five miles.

"Some of the guys were starting to hurt a little bit and it was getting dark, so I decided to cut it back to five miles to give them a mental boost," Wilson said.

Wilson said his team could have finished sooner but they encountered several dogs along the way that made the trek a bit more daunting.

"There is a sign in rural Tennessee that says, 'Beware of dogs next 40 miles,'" he said. "We even had a few that attacked the van and started biting the tires."

By the end of the race, Wilson ran 78.6 miles at a 7:50 pace, Sheaffer ran 70 miles at an 8:20 pace, Shaver ran 55 miles at a 10:00 pace and Laniak ran 73 miles at an 8:50 pace.

For Shaver, completing the race was a personal triumph.

Shaver is a 210-pound "muscle Ranger" who doesn't have the typical build of a long distance runner, but he is "extremely mentally tough" and "game for anything," Wilson said.

Shaver said running has never been his strong suit, but decided a couple of years ago to overcome his weakness.

Shaver said it felt great to complete the race, and he and his comrades plan to run more ultra-marathons in the near future.

"We're going to just keep on running," he said.