Soldiers, sailors and airmen break from the starting gate of the One America 500 Festival Mini Marathon, at LSA Anaconda, Iraq. The race was run in conjunction with the actual mini marathon in Indianapolis, Ind. Photo by Staff Sgt. Les Newport

Early Saturday morning thousands of miles from our home here in Greene County many of our brave National Guard and other military troops were out running in a unique mini-marathon event in Iraq, which was coordinated remotely with the OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon through the streets of Indianapolis.

The 13.1 mile event held remotely at LSA Anaconda/Balad Air Base in Iraq on May 3rd, 2008 featured about 800 runners from the National Guard, Air Force, Army and Navy.

More than 1,000 Indiana National Guard Soldiers are assigned to LSA Anaconda in support of counterinsurgency missions of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The photo comes to us courtesy of Indiana National Guard Public Affairs Officer Capt. Lisa Kopczynski and National Guard photojournalist Staff Sgt. Leslie "Les" Newport.