What you can learn from these 2 Air Force Marathon winners about self doubt and inspiring others

Women’s winner proud to cross finish line in front of her four daughters

Jacob McCubbin and Sarah Bishop beat the heat to the finish line at the 22nd annual Air Force Marathon on Saturday at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, completing the 26.2 miles before the temperatures rose.

The heat got so bad — soaring into the high 80s — the event was black flagged around 12:30 p.m. Runners in the back of the pack were advised to walk the rest of the distance. More than 12,000 runners participated in the full marathon, half marathon, 10-kilometer or 5K races.

Earlier in the day, when the race began, cloud cover helped the runners, and the fastest runners didn’t have to deal with the worst of the heat.

» RACE PHOTOS: Shots from the finish line at Air Force Marathon

The men’s race winner McCubbin, a 2008 Northwestern High School graduate who ran in college at Wright State, finished in 2 hours, 35 minutes, 57 seconds. He beat the second-place finisher, Alex Knoedler (2:39.26), of Bedford, Mass., by more than three minutes.

“I was nervous all week,” said McCubbin, a staff sergeant at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. “I had a lot of self doubt. I just kind of relied on the training I put in all summer, all year honestly. I was a little nervous about the weather. I can never catch a break here. It was my fourth time running here, and the weather always seems to be hit and miss. Today I call it a miss, but I call the performance a hit.”

McCubbin, 28, ran his first marathon at Wright-Patterson in 2014 (2:57.28), returned in 2016 to have his worst race ever (2:58.17) and finished sixth in 2017 (2:47.37). He recorded his personal best Saturday by more than 12 minutes.

» INTERACTIVE: Air Force Marathon growth over the years

McCubbin credited the San Antonio heat for making him tougher. He said he took the lead for good at the 21.5-mile mark. Although he’s been stationed in San Antonio since 2015, McCubbin recently received orders to return to Wright-Patterson for the next four years.

“I’m very excited to get back to the local area and run with tons of college friends, tons of running friends in general and being close to family again,” he said.

The women’s race winner, Bishop, 36, finished in 3:02.25. She beat the second-place finisher, Sara George (3:07.14), of Dayton, by almost five minutes.

“It feels really, really good,” said Bishop, a former Auburn University runner who recently moved to Beavercreek with her family.

“I won the Marine Corps Marathon last year when we lived in (Washington) D.C. We just moved here a few weeks ago, and my goal was to win. I led from the gun, and I don’t know how far anybody was behind me. I know I started fading after halfway, but it was so hot and humid, I figured everybody else was fading, too. I just tried to stay strong and keep pace. I really started hurting during the last two or three miles.”

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Bishop hugged her four daughters — ages 8, 6 and 4-year-old twins — after crossing the finish line.

“It’s really special for them to come see me win a big race,” Bishop said. “I want them to grow up knowing they can do anything if they work really hard, so I’m really happy they were here to see this.”

Here’s a glance at the other winners:

• Men's races — Half marathon: Daniel Kirwa, Gibsonton, Fla. (1:12.22); 10K: Andy Schweitzer, Bellbrook (34:16); 5K: Pedro Ochoa, Homer, Alaska (17:39); Marathon wheeled: David Berling, Avondale, Ariz. (1:09.50).

• Women's races — Half marathon: Emily Shertzer, Jonestown, Pa. (1:23.37); 10K: Maria Scavuzzo, Tipp City (34:56); 5K: Ann Alyanak, Bellbrook (18:28); Marathon wheeled: Holly Koester, Bedford, Ohio (2:09.11).

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