Veteran carries American flag on Oregon Trail run

The morning of Oct. 26 was crisp as runners gathered for the annual Oregon Trail that follows River Road near Hebron. This year’s run featured Randy Woodward, a Navy veteran and Purple Heart recipient, who ran his 34th marathon since being injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005.

Woodward is a Seabee who spent nine months in hospitals and was told he would never run again, but in the fall of 2018, he began running back-to-back double marathons carrying an American flag.

Along the Oregon Trail run, volunteers, including Brian Shahan and Nicole Hamik of Thayer County Health Services, and Alex, Phoebe and Noah Karbowski, Wendy Friesen and Abigail Knigge of Hebron Bible Church, handed drinks and snacks to the runners.

The half-marathoners began their trek at the Alexandria Cemetery and connected to River Road to eventually finish in Hebron.