Army 10-Miler

Details: Created: 06 October 2025

(The following piece was written by my former student Roxanne Turner Boughner and is featured here with her permission. It was written before the event faced possible cancelation due to the government shutdown. Copyright: Roxanne Boughner, all rights reserved.)

WHY I WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE ARMY 10-MILER

ROXANNE TURNER

Today is a sad day as I have decided not to participate in the Army 10-miler 2025, which is to be held on October 12 in Washington, D.C. I ran this race many moons ago, and it was truly an experience of a lifetime. I remember slowly walking to the starting line with almost 35,000 fellow runners. I had goose bumps as the excitement of the race was unfolding while paratroopers jumped out of airplanes. I didn’t track my run because I wanted to fully immerse myself in the experience.

To me a big part of what makes this race so meaningful is the community that comes out to support it! The streets are lined with people from diverse backgrounds, bands, and the sprinkling of bag pipers. The encouragement, support, and pride of the community was tremendous and I couldn’t stop smiling as I ran at my slow and steady pace. I had the pleasure of running alongside a 90-year-old man, platoons, and people running in teams. It was incredibly moving to run by the historic monuments and buildings, a representation of what makes America a special place. Yes, we were there celebrating and supporting the U.S. Army, but it was also a moment to cherish the community that makes D.C. so special. When I reminisce on that experience, it felt like in that moment, both civilians and military personnel were congruent in living the Army Values:

· Loyalty – Bear truth, faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other soldiers.

· Duty – Fulfill your obligations.

· Respect-Treat people as they should be treated.

· Selfless Service-Put the welfare of the Nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own.

· Honor-Live up to Army values.

· Integrity- Do what’s right, legally and morally.

· Personal Courage- Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral). (1)

Now, here we are in Fall of 2025, with the National Guard deployed to Washington, D.C. and authorized to carry guns. The military is designed to protect us from foreign wars and invasion, and neither one of those is happening. In these times when I am conflicted about what to do, I think of my father, a Vietnam vet who served in the U.S. Air Force and is buried in Arlington Cemetery with his grandfather, who retired from the U.S. Army. Both were men of great integrity who defended the rights of all. They would be horrified that the military is being used against U.S. civilians in conflict with the Constitution.

My great-grandfather would be the loudest voice in the room because he fought in World War II and witnessed the atrocities of war first hand! Neither man would be okay with what we are seeing in Washington, D.C. and across the country; violence against citizens, people’s rights being violated, inhumanity and, frankly two sets of rules. This is the antithesis of everything they stood for and fought for.

Why am I deciding not to participate in a race that I hold so dear even though I have been wanting to run in it again for the last 10-plus years? It is because I have been mortified and disgusted by what I have seen going on in our country and especially the deafening silence of those who have sworn--and should have remembered--their oath to the Constitution, not to party or person. I have been very conflicted since the National Guard was deployed while unidentified federal agents tackle and threaten Brown and Black individuals in the streets.

Participating might in some way imply that I support the dismantling of our Constitution and American Democracy that is occurring in D.C. or that military role in our city streets is at all acceptable. I am watching the militarization of our nation, the suppression of opposition, and the wrecking ball fall on what made America a nation of individual rights. I do not want to be complicit in my silence either. None of this is acceptable. I have struggled with what to do and I know it is a small stance to say I will not be participating in this year’s Army 10-Miler. Maybe you too will consider not participating in this event or others until we find our way back to the road of “We The People.”

(1) Daniels Chip. chapter 5 , p 63. Leadership Lessons from West Point, San Francisco, Ca: Jossey-bass; 2007