The Bataan Memorial March is held in honor of a group of heroes who were surrendered to Japanese forces in the Philippines on April 9th, 1942 during World War II. They were forced to march in scorching heat for 65 miles over treacherous terrain. Thousands of Americans, including members of the 200^th Coast Artillery, New Mexico National Guard, and Philippine Soldiers died along the route and in prisoner of war camps. This was my first time participating in this Memorial and I proudly marched in honor of our friend Ralph’s Grandfather, Ricardo Sarmiento who was among those that were tortured in the P.O.W. camps.

I had run the Las Cruces half marathon just two months before this so this was a repeat state in my 50 states running journey. This race was held during spring break so we made a family Runcation out of it! My brother Jake and sister-in-law Shannon also joined us and Liz flew in from Chicago so we picked her up in El Paso along the way! This was Eric’s 4th time participating in this memorial, one of which he did virtual in Saudi Arabia while deployed in 2021. Everyone else (including Eric) had participated in 2023.

First things first, we hit up the Bataan Expo to get our packets and I learned even more about this Memorial Event and all that it honors.🇺🇸 I also got to meet and speak with several local Team RWB members.

We stayed at a beautiful and spacious Airbnb in Las Cruces with the most amazing view of the Organ Mountains from the backyard. We arrived on Erickson’s Birthday so we celebrated with a delicious home cooked Noodle Night with Oreo cake and a bubble machine. 🥳

Prior to Bataan day, we hiked Slot Canyon and then went dune sledding at White Sands National Park. After an amazing day of excursions we had dinner at Andele’s Dog House in Mesilla.

Now, onto The Bataan… we were up and at’em very early. We made our way to the White Sands Missle Range, got all geared up and attended the very moving Memorial ceremonies.

Once the ceremonies were completed, the event got underway. Participants were released in waves, from military to civilian and also by ruck weight (heavy/light) divisions.

It was still dark when we began to march.

It was a cool and cloudy morning as the sun began to peek over the horizon and we marched forward into the Chihuahuan Desert.

I was in awe from the very start just to be a part of this memorial event. It was unlike anything I had even been a part of.

Eric got an early start with the Military/Light Ruck Division and the rest of us started further back with the Civilian/Light Ruck Division but stayed together until the Honorary Split, around mile 8, where Jake turned for his Honorary 14.2 mile route.

Shannon had just run her first 50K Trail run the week before, so she was doing awesome and ended up passing Liz and I and eventually caught up to Eric. Liz and I tried to “close the gap” but ended up staying 1.5-2 miles behind Eric for several miles.

There were many inspiring things to see as we marched. There were large groups of uniformed soldiers that sang cadence as they marched. Participants rucked, carrying all sorts of items. One soldier carried a medical bag labeled “Ouch Pouch,” another soldier carried a large wooden cross. There were disabled and injured participants that honestly gave me reason to keep moving forward in those times that I just wanted to quit.

There was “Hamburger Hill” where you could stop and order a hamburger. 🍔 We had all fueled early that morning and Liz had made sandwiches for all of us to pack in our rucksacks but I fooled myself into thinking I wasn’t hungry most of the day by grabbing fruit at every aid station. This was just one of several mistakes that I made during this 26.2 mile journey.

Speaking of Aid Stations… they were like none I have EVER seen before! They were amazing, as were their volunteers and medics. ❤️

My body was feeling more aches and pains with each mile. At times I would find the energy to run fartleks with Liz in an attempt to catch up to Eric but at other times, I found myself falling further and further behind. It was then that I realized I needed to utilize that peanut butter sandwich i’d been hauling in my rucksack all day as my energy level was depleted.

As we made our way around Mineral Hill, I had to stop at an aid station for a quick break to change my compression socks, which was no simple task. Two wonderful medics did this for me while I rested on a cot. One even inspected my feet for any hot spots/blisters but said my feet looked good. But let me tell you, they DID NOT FEEL GOOD. I was in Pain.

Liz NEVER left me behind. 🥹 She kept me going. She was encouraging and patient as we marched on, making our way BACK down that long steep hill we had climbed to get to Mineral Hill. I mistakenly thought it would be easier coming back down that long road. It was not.

And we had yet to tackle the most difficult part of the course… the dreaded and infamous Sand Pit. 😦

Photos don’t do justice to the terrain here. This stretch of soft sand was very challenging to maneuver through and soon after this Liz asked me how long it had been since I’d taken the Motrin that I had (forgotten) I had packed in my rucksack. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Once the Motrin had kicked in, I felt reenergized! I picked up my pace and Liz and I started runnng fartleks again! This was the last aid station on and the course and they were cheering so loudly that we started hearing them from a mile away! I was so grateful, I really needed them (strictly for motivation) at that point since we were making our way to the home stretch of our journey.

My slowest Marathon time is 5:55 but this Memorial Marathon March took me over 8.5 hours to complete and throughout the entire course the clouds were hiding the full beauty of the Organ Mountains but in the final mile, the clouds lifted and the entire mountain range was visible and we marched towards it.

This was it! Only a quarter mile to go! 😃

Liz stayed with me and we crossed the finish line together! 🥹 I was so happy to see Eric at the finish line too. ❤️

This was one of the most physically grueling and challenging things that I have ever done. It was HARD and there were several times that I wanted to quit. Not only did I find inspiration within my family and all that I saw and heard along the way but I also found inspiration in Ricardo Sarmiento and often thought of what he must have endured.

My body felt wrecked, but I felt grateful to have been physically able to participate in such a moving and meaningful memorial to honor the heroes of the Bataan.

We closed out our day with a wonderful visit from our New Mexico family! They drove in from Albuquerque to spend some quality time with us and it was the perfect ending to such a memorable day. 💝

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