Base running team open to all Published March 10, 2011 By Scott King 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Fairchild now has a running team, its numbers are building, and they are seeking to increase participation dramatically in the coming months. The idea stemmed from a tradition that O'Doherty's Irish Grille, in downtown Spokane has, known as the "Flying Irish Running Club." The restaurant puts together running teams in the spring and summer as a teambuilding and socializing event. Colonel James Crutchfield, the 92nd Operations Group commander, caught wind of it and thought why not try it here as a form of teambuilding, esprit de corps and to promote running and fitness in a casual environment. "The whole idea here is to promote a healthy lifestyle while having fun," said Col. Thomas Roshetko, 92nd Medical Group commander. "It's not a competition and is not a professional runners club - we have gazelles and cabooses." The club, known as the "Fairchild Airman's Running Team," has been running "fun" courses for about two months now. They started with five or six runners and it now has blossomed to more than 20. As a group, they have run about six times so far and seek to band together each week with a new course. "We are trying to bring a 'culture of fitness' to the base through this club," said Col. Michael Hill, 92nd Mission Support Group commander. "It blends very well with Comprehensive Airman Fitness capturing three of the four pillars, physical, social and mental. The physical and social aspects of our running team are obvious, I say mental because physical activity promotes mental acuity - which all contribute to Airman resiliency." The team is open to all people including families and even pets. Currently, there is one kid and even a dog that runs with the team. "We want to stress that this is open to everyone and that, more than anything, it's meant to be fun," said Colonel Roshetko. "The benefits of the physical activity are a welcomed bonus." So far, word of the team has gotten around through word of mouth. They want to change that. "To join the team-runs, anyone can just show up at the Winners Circle at the FunSpot every Tuesday at 4:45 p.m. to run a new course, keeping in mind it's not mandatory to run every week," Colonel Hill said. "We really hope to build the team week-by-week going into the spring - come on out and have some fun with us while taking care of yourself."