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McConnell Airman runs through records

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Armando A. Schwier-Morales
  • 22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  He placed first in Wichita's Rosstoberfest 5K breaking the course record with a time of 15:13 Oct. 2, 2010.

Several years ago as a student Moses Tum earned the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, its first national championship.

Now, an airman 1st class who works in the 22nd Comptroller Squadron as a customer service technician, Airman Tum has ran his mile and a half in 6 minutes, 56 seconds dominating McConnell Air Force Base statistics.

Born in Kenya, Airman Tum has been running for the past 10 years. He has competed in marathon events throughout Wichita and McConnell within the past few years.

"I do it because I want to stay in shape and it helps to clear my mind," said Airman Tum. "After collage I had a 12-hour job that did not allow me to run. As a result, I became bored and unchallenged."

Rosstoberfest was a charity event that supported patients with muscular dystrophy. With nearly 1,000 participants, Airman Tum came on top demonstrating the Air Forces Core values.

"It's great when anyone can excel at something the way Airman Tum excels at running," said Staff Sgt. Rodney McInnis, 22nd Comptroller Squadron customer service NCOIC. "He truly epitomizes the core value of 'Excellence in all we do.'"

While competitive running is his passion, Airman Tum said one of his goals in the Air Force is to continually improve his physical training run time. Currently Airman Tum runs 10 miles a day and wants to increase to 15 miles a day. With those numbers under his belt Airman Tum explained what is necessary to maintain and obtain his goal.

"It's just getting used to [the challenges]," he said. "You do that by being disciplined, doing what is necessary to do and doing it at the right time."

Not only does Airman Tum run, he also does 120 pushups a day and maxes out sit ups. He has never scored under 100 points on his physical test. His achievements have inspired those around him to excel.

"He motivates me to work a little harder when I'm out there running," said Sergeant McInnis. "I mean no one wants to get dusted out on the track ... I know I may not beat him at the 1.5 mile or however far we are running, but I at least want my loss to be as respectable as possible."

While some Airmen strive to meet Airmen Tum's physical training regime, Airman Tum hopes to represent the Air Force internationally. He said he'd like to represent the United States in the Olympics in the Air Force's World Class Athlete Program, but for now he will continue working towards his 15 mile-a-day goal.