European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 letters the stars and stripes Ultra running events gaining popularity As the popularity of marathons has  rapidly in the last four to five years. Man longtime marathoners have begun looking for new horizons to stay ahead of the crowd. The result has been a growth Industry in Ultra events runs and races beyond the 42 kilo meters 26 Miles of the Marathon. Although Long distance running has been around a Long t me. Until recently Only a Small group of runners took it seriously. That s All changing with the Advent of an International association of l Ltd runners Iau International series of races for cups National championships. World records and runs for neophytes As Well As National class competitors m men s and women s age groups. L Era Runng is an Amateur sport for working men and women. There s no Mone in it for full time run ners the Granddad of ail the runs in Europe and still the most popular with some 3.000 runners is the 32 ear of "100km run of Biel Switzerland. While the Best runners finish in under seven hours the finish is open for 24 hours making this a Good run for first timers. In addition to individual entrants the Biel organizers arc proud of their unique military team Competition. Teams Are entered this year june 8 from the armed forces of the u.s.s.r., France Germany. Spain great Britain. Greece Switzerland and Canada. Again no american teams presumably because major com Mand Mars Are too occupied with their own pro Grams. For commanders and first sergeants who Are frustrated with the demise of the cold War. Here s a Golden Opportunity to compete against the other Side in a new spirit o the 1990s. How about turning on your distance runners0 they Don t need Money and training Camps just someone with minimal organizational skills Over the Telephone and the interest in giving our people new International challenges. Kiss applies. Keep it simple stupid for More information write. "100km Lauf von Biel Postrach 437, ch-2501 Biel. Switzerland or Call Frau Stobel who Speaks English at civilian 0041-32-212247 Biel. The Iau 100km International cup 1990" includes races in West Germany Italy England the nether lands. France Spain Poland Sweden Finland Switz Erland user and finally Austria in november 1990. Competition is open to individuals and two runner teams with age group categories for men and women. There Are also races in Africa Asia and the United states. Another cup the Iau 24 hours Europa cup 1990." is a series of races where in each one you run. Jog and walk As Many Kilometres As you can within exactly 24 hours. The first of these is in Basel. Switzer land on saturday followed by Holland Austria eng land and France. Open to individuals and teams. The next Ultra run in West Germany is Frankfurt s "80km  on aug. 18. Point of Contact is Gretel Emmerich. Nar Zissen Strasse 2, d-6000 Frank Furt 56. Or Call civilian 069-5071413. It in t necessary to enter All the races in a cup series to compete for the cup. Each cup has its minimum number of races. Any one race can be entered on its own if you re not interested in the cup. For information on these and a Host of other Ultra running events in Europe write Andy Milroy 3 Belle Field Crescent Trowbridge Wiltshire ba14 8sr, units a file de kingdom or Harry Arndt Sii dring 5, d-6458 Rodenbach West Germany. Herr Arndt Speaks English you can Call him at civilian 06184-51604. A worldwide list of Ultra runs is available for a Small fee from Ulrich Kamm Fiedler Strasse 1a, d-8000 Munchen 71. These Are All working men so Only serious inquiries would be appreciated. A training tip from the German Ultra runners run Volks marches. With a different route each time train ing does t get stale you Don t have to plan a route you can mix and repeat the 10-, 20-, 42-km routes for variety and desired distance they provide Hill training and Early in the mornings you la see the German run ners for company. Donald j. Maxwell Kaiser Lautem West Germany readers comment on defense reductions this is in response to the writer that had a very excellent and timely plea for logic and consideration by the High level military planners naive budget Cut ters and incompetent military leaders to get with the program As they go about defense reductions. Keep the Faith but Don t hold your breath. Adm. Mahan is quoted As saying no military service could reorganize itself the pressure had to come from out  reams of studies generated inside and outside of the army establishment Tell us that we Don t know or seem to care that our direction is As Barbara w. Tuchman aptly Calls such acts a March of  we know or can learn from books such As crisis in c command Straw giant and heavy losses that the present Day defense establishment is full of i. Look How great we Are and 2. Four Star Flag Headquarters that have great plans that seem to consist of two objectives first and Foremost no reduction of Headquarters generals and second get rid of the Young warriors the cutting Edge of the army. What can you and others like you do about changing the inter and Intra service organizational mess that we Call the defense establishment my answer is dedicate your career to becoming the one who cares and places our nation s Well being above personal gain. Set your goal for the top and then change the establishment to fit the new realities of your generation. Col. Ret Myron h. Murley Vicenza Italy this is a rebuttal to the writer s ideas on the Best Way to make defense cuts. I d like to address his statements 1. To be Success Ful our military must be completely devoted to the basics of total mobilization and unlimited response. Wrong our key to Success is flexibility. Recent history . Grenada Libya Panama and the persian Gulf clearly demonstrates this Point. A Force de voted to total mobilization and unlimited response would have been completely inappropriate for these situations. If by unlimited response you meant a capability to respond at any level then you Are on the right track. 2. Objectively re examine the Cut and dried Pur pose of the military. The military s purpose is not Cut and dried. De fending the american Way of life is wide pen for politicians to interpret As they see fit. Fighting is but one use of the military. We Are also used for shows of Force disaster Relief surveillance drug interdiction Law enforcement Etc. All of these actions help enhance our National Security. Granted our leaders do need to thoughtfully re evaluate the purpose of the military create the appropriate Force Structure and fund the new Force Structure so that it can accomplish the Mission. 3. I glance around my office and see expensive com Puter plotters and printers yet i can t relate this equip ment to combat readiness or Victory on the Battlefield. Personnel management transportation finance logistics training centers Etc and a Mac flight simulators and other training devices fire control vehicles and munitions All Benefit greatly from Auto mation. How your plotters and printers contribute i can t say. But if they Are too expensive Why Don t you look for More Cost effective substitutes and sub Mit your recommendation through the army Sugges Tion program 4. To put it simply if someone receives a monthly paycheck from the department of defense vet they re not deployable get rid of them. No modern military can function let alone fight without the contributions of  non deployable educate our children and sol Diers care for our sick or wounded build and main Tain our facilities and perform other services too numerous to mention. Do we have excess among the non deployable yes. Should our leaders make cuts in the civilian labor infrastructure absolutely. But these cuts should be based on criteria other than just deployability. Well i be said my piece. The other responses to the letter should be quite interesting. Capt. Mike Brown Birndorf West Germany pen pals i am 17 years of Nipol m Juntilla Toboso Negros Occidental Philippines i would like to have pen pals around the world Valitha be gala 38 food service of directorate k k w c p o. Box 23 Hajar Al atm 31991. Via Dhahran kingdom of saudi Arabia i am a 25-year-om sri lankan and work Lor a company in saudi Arabia. My hobbies Are writing and Reading. A. K. Umaharan Post Box 82 aizafsumah31922 saudi Arabia i would like to correspond with service members stationed in the  live in Germany and would like to travel South this summer to meet the new people i write to. Barbara Lohrenz he Cox 161 . 09165 i would like to correspond with friends Here and abroad. I am 30 years old. Lorna s. In Carnacki 0051 Roxas St. Nawab davaodelnorte8108philippines i am 20 years old and enjoy volleyball biking dancing and going to movies. Edgar Mendez Magnao nor eco ii Dur Aguete City. Negros Oriental Philippines i am 28 years old. My hobbies Are Cook ing Reading Tennis and gardening. Mariion Salinas 119blacnabatost. 6217 Darin Negros Oriental Philippines