Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon: Airman to run half-marathon in full uniform, 168-pound pack

On Sunday during the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, Brustad will run the half-marathon in his Air Force uniform, including boots, carrying a 168-pound pack on his back in memory of the 168 lives lost in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

And that’s not all. Beginning Tuesday, Brustad will begin a quest to break 19 world endurance records by Sunday in memory of the 19 children who perished in the bombing.

A recruiter in Oklahoma City for the Air Force, Brustad loves physical fitness and loves a challenge. But he is pushing himself to the limit for one simple reason.

“I just want to make sure no one is every forgotten,” he said.

A native of New York, Brustad joined the Air Force out of high school because of 9-11. He was assigned to the Altus Air Force Base where in 2007 he ran for the first time in the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.

The day of the race was Brustad’s first visit to the memorial and the bomb site. The experience overwhelmed him, from the 168 moments of silence at the beginning of the race to the woman who hugged him at the finish line. She thanked Brustad for helping keep her father’s memory alive.

Brustad has been running in memory of the 168 bombing victims ever since.

In 2008, he ran from Altus to Oklahoma City in the week before the marathon, averaging 35 miles today. By the time he finished the marathon, he had ran a total of 168 miles.