Story and photo by
MC2 (SW) Mark Logico
Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

More than 2,500 people, including approximately 180 U.S. Navy Sailors, participated in the 16th Annual Swamp Romp at Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH), Kaneohe Bay on Feb. 20.

The Swamp Romp, a six-person team event, is a five-mile foot race that circles around MCBH. Participants negotiated several obstacles which required them to swing, crawl and jump through knee-high mud.

Among those who participated were Sailors from Commander, Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT) who joined the race with their own families. COMPACFLT's 'A Princess and Five Frogs,' which consisted of Capt. Dennis Hansen, 14-year-old Sean Hansen, Lt. Santiago Martinez, 14-year-old Anthony Martinez, Operations Specialist 1st Class Tyrus Peterson and 11-year-old Umeko Peterson, was a father/son/daughter Navy team who joined the race purely for fun.

"It's fun, if you want to get down and dirty," said Hansen. Hansen participated in several other races like the 2010 Swamp Romp, but it wasn't until his son, Sean, asked to join that he was able to race with his family as a team.

"The rivalry aspect is a lot of fun, but for us, it's bringing in the family aspect," said Hansen. "Even though we are serving the country in the military, the families are very important. So getting the children involved has been very awesome. I think it shows our core values."

Hansen and Martinez, who recently deployed overseas, were both happy to be with their own families during the event.

"You can officially call us mud divers," said Peterson referring to his daughter, Umeko, who after the race was caked in mud. "For her, being her first time, she really did well."

Umeko said it was important for her to never give up, no matter how hard it was.

Hansen, whose team placed 370th, said what's important was to have fun and family readiness.

"It is kind of the benefit of being in Hawaii," said Hansen. "Physical fitness is something that's near and dear to my heart obviously. We've been trying to get away from the idea that physical fitness is something we punish ourselves twice a year with PFA (physical fitness assessment). We should be fit all the time. [The Swamp Romp] is just an example of one of the fun ways to be prepared and be fit at the same time."