Tunnel 9’s Team AEDC competes in 6th Annual White Oak Classic 5K race

  • Published
  • By Phillip Lorenz III
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  Six Team AEDC White Oak runners competed in the Annual White Oak Classic 5K race on-site May 4.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-sponsored race takes place each year in May.

This race has been going on at FDA for many years and since moving to the White Oak campus six years ago, they have chosen to run it there. More than 1,000 employees participate each year.

AEDC Hypervelocity Wind Tunnel 9 employees participate each year and run and train as a team. Of those who did run, most improved their times from last year's race.

"This is our sixth year of training and running together as an AEDC team in the FDA White Oak Classic 5K," said Tunnel 9 Site Director Dan Marren. "Since our site here depends on the work of our partners GSA (General Service Administration) and NHI (New Horizons Industries), a company that supplies support services to Tunnel 9 through GSA, we invite them to run with us as Team AEDC."

He added, "I run because it's one of the ways we can participate together as a consolidated campus here at the Federal Research Center (FRC). Without our FDA and GSA partners, our quality of life here would be significantly lower.

"I cannot thank them enough for accepting us into their operation. Participating in campus events is a small way to show connectivity. We can also show off that DoD winning spirit."

Christine Ewing, GSA Associate Regional Fine Arts Officer, has also enjoyed the camaraderie resulting from her professional ties with the Team AEDC participants and other teams taking part in the race.

"I have been working closely with FDA, AEDC and Labquest, coordinating artwork for the campus," she said. "For more than four years, I've felt like a team member as I've formed this partnership with them. It just seemed natural to be on AEDC's team this year for the White Oak 5K."