Armed Forces Dominate National 30 KM Championships

by Al Heppner

The US Armed Forces feature three of the nation's top racewalkers and they all performed brilliantly at the National 30 km Racewalk Championships in Chula Vista, CA on 11 January.

Air Force Captain Kevin Eastler led the way with a near-record performance and an easy victory in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 44 seconds, while the Army contingent of SPC Al Heppner (2:16:52) and SGT John Nunn (2:19:39) took second and fourth, respectively. All three soldiers walked personal best times in the race.

Eastler broke away after the first kilometer and never looked back.

"I wanted to hold (American Record) pace and I was surprised that no one went with me," Eastler said.

Meanwhile, Heppner was part of a chase pack with Olympians Curt Clausen, Tim Seaman, and Sweden's Andreas Gustafson. Nunn was in the second pack with training partner Sean Albert.

At 10 km, Eastler was 44:31, with the pursuit group including Heppner at 46:04, with Nunn, who had broken Albert, at 48:38.

Gustafson was disqualified at 12 km, while Heppner began to inch away from Seaman and Clausen to move solidly into second.

Eastler was well under Clausen's American Record pace at 20 km with a 1:29:13 split, and Heppner second at 1:31:23. Seaman was less than 30 seconds behind, with Clausen another minute back and Nunn closing in.

In the final 10 km, Eastler continued to walk well and was still on record pace, but stopped to vomit with the finish line in sight and missed the record by 21 seconds. Still, it was the second-fastest winning time ever at the US National 30 km, behind only Two-Time Olympian Allen James' 2:14:31 in 1993. Heppner held on for a six-second personal best at 2:16:52, his first P.R. at any distance since 2001. Seaman tied up badly in the final third of the race and dropped all the way back to seventh, allowing Clausen to move up to third by the finish (2:19:07). Nunn patiently walked himself right into the middle of the race and nearly completed a medals sweep for the Armed Forces, before settling for fourth in 2:19:39.

Eastler has moved to the forefront of the men's racewalking scene. At 26 years of age, he is already number two on the US All-time list at 20 km. Recently, he was accepted into the Air Force World Class Athlete Program which allows him to train full-time through the Olympics.

"It's been great for me. I've been able to complete a higher training volume and I don't have to adjust my training to my work schedule," Eastler said.

Eastler and Nunn can next look forward to the US Indoor Nationals on 28 Feb. and the 20 km Olympic Trials in July, while Heppner's Olympic Dreams are more immediate. He will compete in the 50 km Olympic Trials, also in Chula Vista, on 15 February. Both Nunn and Heppner are members of the Army World Class Athlete Program.

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