Vance student pilot runs his first Boston Marathon Published April 30, 2013 By Joe B. Wiles 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- When the starter pistol fired April 15, 2nd Lt. Christopher Chorney was still 45 seconds away from the starting line at the 2013 Boston Marathon. His qualifying run at the 2011 Marine Corps marathon in Washington D.C. earned him a starting position a thousand runners back from the leader. It would take more than 40 minutes that morning for all of the 27,000 runners to step over that starting line. Two hours, 56 minutes and 26.2 miles later, Chorney crossed the finish line, the 1,501st finisher of the Boston Marathon this year. It was almost two hours later that two bombs exploded. Chorney was en route to the airport and without cell phone reception in the tunnels under Boston. It wasn't until he was on a shuttle bus between the rental car turn-in and the airport that a fellow runner got the news on her phone. "Text messages started catching up with my cell phone," said Chorney, a student pilot in Class 14-04. "Friends and family were asking if I was OK. I was replying that my legs were sore but I felt fine." It wasn't until his flight commander called that Chorney realized what they were asking. He passed an Applebee's restaurant in the airport that had all the television monitors turned to the marathon coverage. "They were showing the initial video of the explosions," said Chorney. "I thought, 'I was just there.'" His flight was 40 minutes late taking off. Security concerns on the ground had caused the delay according to the aircraft captain. During the flight to Dallas, Chorney had time to think about his first running of the Boston Marathon. It was a race he had been training for since joining his high school cross-country team, although he didn't realize it until a classmate at the U.S. Air Force Academy challenged him to run a half-marathon -- 13.1 miles. He finished the half marathon in fourth place. "I thought, maybe this is my true talent," said Chorney. During his senior year at the Academy, he joined the marathon team. In October 2011, he completed the Marine Corps marathon, 26.2 miles, in 2 hours, 48 minutes. That time qualified him for the Boston Marathon. He set his sights on 2013. Chorney reported to Vance Air Force Base August 2012 to begin pilot training. He continued his marathon training with an entry into a local 10K run in Enid. That was when he learned an important rule for long distance running. "Don't get lost." Although Chorney led the 10K's pack, a few wrong turns had him asking, "Wasn't I just in front of those guys?" He went on to finish a "disappointed" second place, but knew that his conditioning was on track. To gauge his training further, he entered the Route 66 Marathon in November and finished in 15th place with 2 hours, 59 minutes. Although his running was important, learning to fly had to come first. Chorney was relieved when his instructors agreed to give him time off to participate in the 117th running of the Boston Marathon. From the beginning, he was sure he could complete the more than 26 miles. He was wearing his special racing shoes. The course was well marked so he wasn't worried about getting lost. "You worry about blowing an ankle, developing a cramp or rubbing a blister," said Chorney. He was 20 miles into the run, two hours of putting one foot in front of the other, again and again, when he was introduced to "Heartbreak Hill" at the corner of Walnut Street and Commonwealth Avenue. "There were a lot of spectators there," he said. "They know what that hill can do to the runners." But he pushed on up the hill and completed the marathon. His time qualifies him for the 2014 race. He is looking forward to the Air Force Marathon in September and another running of the Marine Corps Marathon in November. But for now, he is focused on completing the T-6 portion of his flight training. And maybe shaving a few seconds off his running time.