Feature Story

          When most people think of Coast Guard rescue swimmers the first thought that comes to mind is usually of someone who is strong, fit and determined.  These men and women put themselves through some of life’s most difficult challenges every day for their job, and a number of them bring that determination to their private lives as well.  Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Kirkendall of Air Station Savannah is one of these rescue swimmers who has overcome more challenges than most people his age could imagine. On May 15, 2010 he completed the Keys 100 race three years almost to the day of his final chemotherapy treatment, while at the same time raising nearly $2,000 for fallen shipmates.
          “Keys 100 is a 100-mile race from Key Largo to Key West, Fla.,” said Kirkendall. “I looked for an event that was 100 miles, and I know there aren’t many elevation changes in that part of the world, so that’s why I chose this particular race.”
          After completing three marathons previously, the Anchorage native was looking for a little bit more of a challenge.
“It just got to the point where everyone and their brother has done a marathon, and it just didn’t sound like that much of a challenge anymore. I was looking for a 100-mile race that was close by that I felt I could accomplish, and I found the Keys 100. I first started looking at it in September 2009.  I had never been to Florida, so I thought I’d check it out.”
          And the race proved to be quite the challenge. All 109 runners met at the starting line in Key Largo at 6:00 in the morning at a cool 74 degrees with 82 percent humidity. Over the next 32 hours the sun beat down on the athletes averaging about 82 degrees and in some places getting as warm as 92 degrees while maintaining the high humidity.  The overall heat index would prove to be a great challenge for all of the runners. Only 33 of them would actually complete the race.
          “It was the longest 31 hours, 55 minutes of my life!” He said. “I just wasn’t prepared for how hot it was going to be. I had two of my best friends come down and act as support crew, Darren Navarro and Chris Wheeler. If it wasn’t for them, I would never have crossed the finish line – they kept me alive.”
Throughout the race, the 100-mile runners had four checkpoints along the route. These points were about every 25 miles. It was up to Kirkendall’s support team to keep him going, keep him motivated, and keep hydrated.
          “He would call us if something would happen in between,” Navarra said. “Other than that, we would set up every few miles where we would be and just wait for him to come along.”
          Wheeler ran with Krikendall every now and then on the course, and Navarra would call out encouraging words to keep motivated.
          “I just wanted to keep a positive attitude because obviously it’s going to be a trying event. So I figured that if the support crew, Chris and I, were positive through out the race, then he’d be able to carry the same attitude himself,” Navarra said.
          Kirkendall stands at six feet, two inches tall, and weights about 215 pounds. A physique, he says, that isn’t your normal runner’s physique, but he didn’t let the other runners intimidate him as race day approached.
          “The day before the race, Darren, Chris and I went to go pick up my bib number and the packet. I’m looking around and it’s like ‘There’s no one [who’s] even close to being [more than] 200 pounds here,’” Kirkendall said.  “All of the runners there were all 170-180 pounds. Some of them were probably close to 160. And me, I’m 215, and I was definitely the Clydesdale in the group.”
          However, he didn’t feel anxious as he observed the other 108 runners. One of them asked him skeptically if he was going to run the entire 100 miles.        
         “Yeah, sure, why not?” The self-proclaimed Clydesdale shrugged and laughed.   “And honestly, some of the guys who were real small, those were the guys who didn’t finish.  As you’re getting up to the check points, the 25, 50, 75 mile check points, you saw ambulances running the other way with some of the other runners.  They were the real lightweight runners. I was happy I could outlast those guys.”
          Kirkendall would prove all of them wrong, and he completed the grueling 100-mile race.
         “I was happy he finished. I wanted him to finish, and I did everything I could as far as support during the race to keep him going. It was great when he finished. It was awesome!” Navarra said.
          The race itself supports prostate cancer research, and raises money for cancer patients, something that Kirkendall is all too familiar with.  He was diagnosed with stage three testicular cancer in 2007.  According to the Mayo Clinic, testicular cancer is not as common as other cancers, but occurs more often in young American men ages 15-34. Kirkendall was 26 at the time of his diagnosis. 
          “I was so well taken care of when I was sick and going through my ordeal. At the time I had just transferred to Air Station New Orleans from Air Station Travers City, and both commands were supportive and did whatever they could to help me out with whatever I needed,” Kirkendall said of his experience. “May 12, 2007 was my last day of chemotherapy, and May 15, 2010 was race day. It was my three-year anniversary of being in remission, and I just felt that was the best way to celebrate being alive for three years.”
Being diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment was a humbling experience for Kirkendall, who now says he would like to be an example for anyone who has to go through what he went through.
          “It always bothers me when people try to say, ‘This was my experience I had when I had cancer, or when I was going through chemo.’ No one handles it the same.  Everyone’s situation is different. I don’t like telling people, ‘This is what you can expect.’  But if I can be an example for somebody [who] was affected with it saying, ‘Hey, look at me! I was in a similar situation and three years later I ran a 100-mile race.’  If I can be an example to someone, and maybe keep their head up and keep their head out of the dumps, that’s what kind of inspired me.”
          After the initial diagnosis and during his recovery, Kirkendall realized how much of a family the Coast Guard is, and how tight-knit the aviation community is.
          “On top of that, being an AST where there’s so few of us, when one is going through difficulty we all feel it. It is truly a brotherhood.”
          Which is why he wanted this race to mean something more. Not only was he running for the race’s cause, but he had his own cause as well.  On October 29, 2009 a Coast Guard C-130 plane collided in mid air with a Marine Corps AH-1 Cobra helicopter off the coast of San Diego killing all on board both aircraft.
          “Being in aviation, for whatever reason, when the 1705 crashed, it bothered me more than any other aviation mishap that has happened since I’ve been in, and the Coast Guard is a family. I just felt this was the best way I could give back.  Being able to complete this race, and just really give back.  That was really the eye in the prize. I wanted to do something to help the families, and this is what came to mind. I ran 100 miles for them.”
          The swimmer ran 100 miles with the families of the crew members inspiring him to keep moving one foot in front of the other through the day, into the night hours and the sunrise of the following morning, and finally finishing in the early afternoon May 16.  He was able to raise almost $2,000 by asking friends and family if they would sponsor him either per mile or for a flat rate. The money was then donated to the Family Disaster Relief fund through the Coast Guard Foundation.
          Kirkendall does not want his life to be defined by cancer, or as a cancer survivor, but rather by the day-to-day accomplishments he is able to achieve.  And this is what he has achieved: completing something epic by running 100 miles in the loving memory of his fallen shipmates.   
          Two months after Kirkendall completed his race the Coast Guard suffered another tragedy.  On July 7 an aircrew based at Air Station Sitka, Alaska crashed into the waters off La Push, Wash. They were flying from Astoria, Ore., back to Sitka when the MH-60T Jayhawk, tail number 6017, met a tragic end.  The crash killed three of the men aboard and sent one to the hospital for six days.   And once again Kirkendall and the rest of the Coast Guard family found themselves grieving for their lost shipmates, for their lost family members.  Kirkendall ran with the seven crewmembers of 1705 as his inspiration, but the money he raised will go toward helping the families of this recent crash of 6017.

KEY WEST, Fla. – Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Kirkendall prepares to run 100 miles the morning of May 15, 2010. Kirkendall, a rescue swimmer stationed at Air Station Savannah, completed the ultra marathon in 31 hours and 55 minutes, while at the same time raising nearly $2,000 for the Coast Guard Foundation Family Disaster Relief fund. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Kirkendall.		SEAL BEACH, Calif. - Petty Officer 2nd Class Brian Kirkendall, a rescue swimmer stationed at Air Station Savannah, talks about running 100 miles for a significant anniversary and in memory of fallen shipmates. U.S. Coast Guard video.