Scott Airmen will compete for Air Force Top Athlete of the Year

Published Jan. 4, 2012
By Airman 1st Class Jake Eckhardt
375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Two Scott Air Force Base Airmen were selected as Air Mobility Command's top male and female Athletes of the Year, and will compete for the Air Force-level Athlete of the Year award.

Chief Master Sgt. Troy Saunders, an Air Mobility Command vehicle fleet manager, and 2nd Lt. Cherie Kail, a 375th Medical Group lab officer in charge, were selected as the nominees. Both athletes will compete against other top athletes from bases across the Air Force.

"I really enjoy running," said Kail. "So this is really cool to me. It's my meditation and it's something I genuinely love to do."

Saunders said, "This is the fourth time I have been announced the command-level winner. To be able to compete with the Olympic athletes in the Air Force sports programs makes me very proud, even if I don't win at the Air Force level."

A lot of dedication, planning and time management was put into their workout schedules to keep them in the best possible shape.

Kail said, "I'm a full-time graduate student. I work full-time, I volunteer, so I get up at 5 a.m. and do an hour or so of cardio, and just my core push-ups and sit-ups on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. Then if I can I will run again later that day."

Kail runs 1.5 miles in 9.5 minutes, and also runs 70 miles a week, sometimes with the Road Warriors, a distance and speed running team from O'Fallon, Ill.

"The time tested truth about running is that the more you do it the better you get, and I stick to that mindset," she said.

Saunders focuses more on the strength aspect of working out. He is a professional bodybuilder and powerlifter as well as being the Air Force's power lifting coach.

"Five days out of the week I am up in the morning doing some cardio workout, then three afternoons out of the week I hit the heavy weights," said Saunders. "Being both a bodybuilder and power lifter requires a lot of training, but there are different studies to the both of them."

To compliment all the exercise the two do, they also watch the type and volume of the food they eat.

"You don't eat out, you don't eat junk," said Kail. "You have to plan what you eat, so you can plan how you perform."

Saunders said, "You don't want to have any excess body fat. That's just more weight you're carrying around."

When the athletes sit down for a meal, they calculate the fat grams, calories, carbs and protein to ensure they get the nutrients and energy their body needs without getting anything extra.

"You are eating for success," Saunders said. "You are competing against a whole bunch of other people who are also eating and training to win."

Kail has realized that there will always be someone who runs faster or longer, but those are the kind of people who motivate her to try harder.

"I have really good mentors," said Kail. "Bob Dewar, who was formally an Army lieutenant colonel but is now a dentist, is over 60 and has done more than 180 marathons. He ran my first marathon with me and could still clean my plate. He also beat me by an hour in a 50 mile run two years ago."

"My other mentor is Richard Johnson, a computer science professor at Missouri State. I blame Richard because he gave me marathon fever."

Although still inspired by the weight lifters who push their limits, Saunders said he also finds motivation when others find a sport, hobby or routine.

"I have met people who aren't into any athletic endeavor who see what I'm doing and decided 'wow, I want to do something in my life even if it isn't that,'" said Saunders. "They change their lifestyle, lose 50 or 60 pounds and by doing that you could get more focused in school, be more energetic at work or just have a better overall attitude."

Kail said, "I think a large part of being chosen was because it's a leadership thing. You have to set the standard, then continue to raise it. You have to live it."