AEDC’s Melissa Miller: When triathlons became her passion

  • Published
  • By Philip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  When she first arrived at AEDC to work, Melissa Miller, an aerospace engineer, who recently had graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology, recalls being overwhelmed.

She looked around in awe at the wind tunnels, space chambers - all of the massive infrastructure at AEDC - and met her coworkers, mostly older, married men with children.

"I didn't know a soul [here]," Miller said. "My work as a test engineer in the Propulsion Wind Tunnel complex kept me busy during the day, but afterwards, going to my home in Murfreesboro, I didn't know what to do, I didn't have a social base.

"It takes a little time to build that network of friends, so I had some time on my hands. And fresh out of college, I had this nervous energy or whatever. So, I was thinking, 'let's just get out of that apartment and go do something.' And running was some part of that something that grew into a much bigger piece."

Her experience with running changed her life in more ways than she could have imagined, but it wasn't an easy transition.

"I'd go out and see if I could run a mile and that was a real challenge to begin with, and for a year, that was the limit of what I would do," said Miller, who has been the director for the Mach Tenn Triathlon since 2000. "Initially I didn't have a running partner, but shortly after I got started - from three to six months, the guys who I was carpooling with from Murfreesboro became my running buddies. That was when the Fitness Center first opened and running/walking trail was opened. We would go and run after work before heading home. Then we got to where we'd run two laps of the trail.

The Mach Tenn Triathlon takes place at Woods Reservoir.

"That was just a huge day when I had run 3.6 miles. After a year, a friend talked me into running a 5K [race]. And it became just a real social thing because you run into people you know and you stand around and you make new friends in that process and so, I had a couple of friends who I was running with."

In 2003, David Ruckstuhl, who is ATA's Finance and Contracts branch manager, had relocated to the area for his new job at AEDC.

An avid triathlete in his 30's, Ruckstuhl had taken part in triathlons in Florida, Alaska, Canada, and Hawaii.

"After settling into the AEDC area, I looked for races," Ruckstuhl said. "The Mach Tenn Triathlon was well-spoken of and local so I gave it a try. I could tell by the quality of the race - well communicated, well organized, well-marked course, safe, strong competition, etc. - that the race organizers were top-notch. I've seen really good, high quality races and Melissa and her team really put on a good show."

He said Miller's demeanor was a factor in her success as the director of the annual event.

"Melissa is calm and well spoken, a great listener, has great management skills and takes decisive actions," Ruckstuhl said. "These are all evident by the repeat participants and the high level of competition at the Mach Tenn. At the same time, because the race is so well advertised formally and by word-of-mouth, every year they have many first-timers as well. That brings a great balance to triathlons."

Miller said she credits a retired AEDC engineer with the creation of the Mach Tenn Triathlon.

"The Mach Tenn. Triathlon originated more than 30 years ago," said Miller, who is an Instrument and Controls Services Branch project execution specialist. "Bob Alt, a retired AEDC engineer, was the driving force in getting the triathlon started. Sarah Liechty had an idea for a triathlon and mentioned it to Bob. Bob took the idea and ran with it - came up with the location and course.

"Bob Alt is still involved with the triathlon and has been an integral part of the event for its entire 30 years. He was the race director for several years and then turned that job over to others, but remains involved with much of the pre-race preparation and set up."

The original triathlon was the Ironman event in 1978, which consisted of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run.

The Mach Tenn Triathlon began in 1982 as an Olympic distance event, but has transitioned to the distances of 0.6 mile swim, a 16 mile bike, and a 4 mile run.

Dennis Elston, senior project engineer in AEDC's Space and Missile Branch, recalls what propelled Miller to the forefront of the Mach Tenn. Triathlon.

"I was the Mach Tenn Triathlon race director in the mid 1990's," Elston said. "We had a situation where the programmer who provided the computer results declined to work the upcoming race. This was in the days before chip timing and results processing was a specialized task.

"The race was on the verge on cancelation. However, Melissa stepped up and volunteered to learn and provide the computer results, along with Sybil Lattremore as the race director. The race was a success. After a few years, Melissa ascended to the position of race director and has remained ever since."