"It was probably a little foolish of me, but nothing was going to get in the way of my running," she said.

And she did it because, unlike Afghani women, she has the freedom to run.

On Dec. 12, 2004, Stevens joined more than 200 other soldiers and civilians (no Afghani women) in Afghanistan's first marathon at Firebase Ripley, a remote camp near Tirin Kot in central Uruzgan province.

The 26.2-mile race consisted of five laps around a bumpy 5.29-mile course, facing high altitude as well as the threat of attack. Stevens felt good for the first three laps but tightened on the fourth. The thought of those women kept her going.

"It was like an energizer," said Stevens, who ended up the top woman finisher with a time of 3 hours, 45 minutes. "I was kind of doing it for them because I know one day they'll be able to do something like this."

Jill Stevens

Rank: Specialist

Unit: 211th Aviation Group

Tour: April 2004-April 2005

Residence: Cedar City

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E-mail: romboy@desnews.com

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