Check our print edition this Wednesday for more photos and stories from today's Air Force Marathon.
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WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE - While some amazing speeds were recorded in Saturday’s Air Force Marathon on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, no one was faster than Clymer, N.Y. resident Kenneth Bestine.
Bestine powered his handcycle through the 26.2-mile course that wound through the Air Force base, Wright State’s campus and Fairborn in 1 hour, 18 minutes. It took Bestine about half the time as the fastest runners to complete the course using his carbon fiber-made cycle.
Saturday marked Bestine’s first appearance at the Air Force Marathon; a win that he defined as a pinnacle for his racing career. Bestine said he has won many marathons, but none as large as Saturday’s Air Force Marathon.
“I have always wanted to do it, finally was healthy enough to do it,” Bestine said.
Before being confined to a wheelchair, Bestine said he used to race bicycles; that changed one day.
“They found me in a field,” he said.
Bestine was riding his motorcycle when he wrecked into a field 12 years ago.
“I loved my life the way it was so it was very hard for me to accept change,” Bestine said. “Two years, I was laid up. Completely out of it. I realized that my three kids and my wife deserved better than what I was giving them. Life was just passing me by.”
Saturday’s handcycle race came down between Bestine and Travis Peruski. Bestine held off Peruski by one minute, 56 seconds.
At one point, Bestine trailed by a football field. He closed that gap and took the lead a few miles into the race.
“You always keep tabs on where everyone else is and how fast they are,” Bestine said. “I thought I would win in the first three miles. As soon as I caught up to the guys who sped up because I am a slow starter, once I caught up to them, I knew I would walk away.”
While Bestine does not have the physical ability to run a marathon using his feet, the opportunity to use a handcycle is one he is appreciative of.
“It is a Paralympic sport now, it is a World Cup event, it means a lot to people with disabilities,” he said.
