FORT HOOD, Texas  –   Alaska Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Bethany Hendren completed her 100-mile run in a month challenge with the 297th Regional Support Group surrounding her at Fort Hood, Texas, May 22, 2020. Hendren is currently at Fort Hood in preparation for deployment to Poland with the 297th Regional Support Group, an Alaska Army National Guard unit.

Sergeant 1st. Class Adam Mcquiston, currently stationed in Germany, a mentor to Hendren challenged her to 100 miles in 30 days through Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers (BOSS). McQuiston was Hendren’s former drill instructor from Basic training.

Hendren in turn shared this challenge with three other Soldiers she knows at Fort Greely, Alaska. These additional Soldiers in turn shared it with approximately 50 more Soldiers. Having this many military members working together to monitor, to hold accountable helped me complete this task, said Hendren.

“I was motivated by my peers to complete this challenge, they helped me overcome my fear of failure, even though they were not physically present, being able to interact via social media being able to track their success led to my success,” said Hendren.

This was a BOSS fitness challenge, a Military program, which encourages holistic physical fitness through several different challenges. Helping to keep single Soldiers on track with military physical fitness and assisting to maintain mental wellbeing is a trademark of the program.

“The deployment definitely made this challenging, with completing training, working, moving out of my apartment, finding time to run was hard,” said Hendren.

Hendren completed this run, on running track three within the quarantine area of North Fort Hood. Members of the 297th RSG ran with her to keep her motivated for the last five miles.

The National Guard strives to support and encourage Soldiers to challenge themselves. Family is especially important to the Guard, as most Soldiers only drill one weekend a month two weeks a year. Interactions between members often happen in Alaska outside of the drill environment creating a tighter Guard family.

“I am eternally grateful for the support of my family, my Guard family for supporting me through this challenge. It was amazing to have that camaraderie and support from everyone with me from the 297th RSG,” said Hendren.