US Army Staff Sergeant Eric Dean Johnson has completed a one-mile bomb suit run in 8 minutes, 42 seconds outside the Grafenwoehr Post Exchange - setting the new world record for the Fastest Mile in a Bomb Suit while raising awareness for the EOD Warrior Fund and EOD Memorial Foundation, two organizations which support both EOD soldiers and families of EOD soldiers who were wounded or killed in action.
The previous World Records Academy entry for the one-mile bomb suit run was set by Air Force Staff Sgt. Owen Duff with a time of 9 minutes, 22 seconds. Johnson shaved 40 seconds off of Duff's time.
"You can say there was some good natured, professional competition at the heart of this," said Johnson, a native of Charles City, Iowa. "The first record was set by the Navy, followed by the Air Force. I thought it was time for the Army to take a shot at it."
"This record setting is a reflection of his personality," said Capt. Steward McGurk, the 702nd EOD Company commander. "He sees challenges, sets goals and achieves them."
"Initially I thought I took off too fast, and it would have a negative effect on my run time," said Johnson, who's bomb suit weighs approximately 80 pounds. "Halfway through the run, all I could really do was concentrate on my breathing."
"The pace truck was calling out my times as I ran but I just could not hear them because I was so focused on running and pushing myself," Johnson said. "It was not until I turned the corner into the final stretch when the crowd was cheering me on that I was able to hear the time and run it in."
The 702nd EOD Co. leadership used the one-mile bomb suit run event to support Johnson and also to raise awareness for the EOD Warrior Fund and EOD Memorial Foundation, two organizations which support both EOD Soldiers and Families of EOD Soldiers who were wounded or killed in action.
The Guinness World record for the most people running 100 meters in a 24 hours relay is 3,807 participants for the Latvian Nation's 90th Anniversary Celebrations at the Daugava Stadium in Riga, Latvia.
Guinness World Records also recognized the greatest distance travelled on a treadmill in 24 hours by a woman is 247.2 km (153.6 miles) by Edit Berces (Hungary) at the Eurocentre Shopping Mall, Budapest, Hungary.
"In those final hours before the run I just felt anxious, nervous and ready to do it. But to paraphrase Vince Lombardi, we can accomplish many more things if we don't think of them as impossible," said Johnson. |
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Fastest mile in a Bomb Suit