Sport sometimes enters a soldier’s day without being invited. Such an episode occurred when Army Captain Brett Prillaman strolled into the mess facility at his base in Baghdad, Iraq, last December. “All they have open at that time of day”—between lunch and dinner—“is a sandwich bar,“ he said. “And you have to get the sandwich ‘to go.‘ I decided to sit down at a shaded picnic table to eat my lunch. Two other soldiers were sitting there eating, and there was a third lunch there, unattended. Both soldiers were grinning as I sat down and started to eat. I asked them what they were grinning about. They both said that in about two minutes, I’d find out.“

Attended: Goochland High School, VMI
  Service branch: Army (captain)
  Served in: Iraq
  Currently: Reassigned last summer to the Virginia National Guard. Works with the State Corporation Commission’s Division of Utility and Railroad Safety.
  When duty no longer calls: Angle intends to maintain his level of fitness by riding his road and mountain bikes and by visiting the gym on his schedule, not Uncle Sam’s. During his 15 months in Iraq, he said, “those of us who were constantly going out on missions had a harder time utilizing the available (athletic and conditioning) assets.“

Super Bowl XLIII ended a bit before 10 p.m. on the eastern seaboard of the United States. In Baghdad, Iraq, it was before 6 a.m. The clock in Kabul, Afghanistan had to read 7:30 a.m. All of which illustrates a minor but very real inconvenience for U.S. troops serving in those areas: Even in this age of blogs and bytes, real-time scores are not always easy to obtain.

Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ City Dance Theatre and three other department junior dance companies won 14 first-place awards, seven-second place trophies, and one third-place showing in the DanceAmerica regional competition held in Portsmouth this past weekend. Forty-five young dancers traveled on Feb. 28 for the two-day program not only to compete, but also to attend DanceAmerica workshops featuring nationally known instructors. They represented the only municipally sponsored dancers, competing with companies representing dance schools and private studios from Maryland to Georgia.

Thirty-two teams signed up to compete in the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities’ first orienteering meet, which was held Feb. 21 in Chimborazo Park. They consisted of families, children, and adults, all of varying skill levels ranging from the first-time novices to regular competitors. Competitors came from as far away as Baltimore.

Spend a day with family and friends at the Linwood Holton Elementary 9th Annual 5K Run/Walk and the Holton Hustle, March 7. There will be a 7:45 a.m. check-in and registration, and the 8:15 kids’ 200-meter Holton Hustle. The race begins at 9. The Kid’s Hustle is open to students through fifth grade from any school, and those attending Virginia Tech. The race will be broken into groups by grade. Students running in the Holton Hustle that are pre-registered should arrive no later than 8 a.m. Students not pre-registered should arrive by 7:45 a.m. Ribbons will be awarded to participants and prizes awarded to the top male and female in each age group.

Construction on a $100 million, 50-acre Olympic training facility in the Waterford Business Center in Chesterfield County could begin in February.

RESULTS RUNNING RICHMOND ROAD RUNNERS CLUB Turkey Trot 10K Male overall: 1. Alex Tatu 32:46, 2. Richard Morris 34:38, 3. Joel Wolpert 35:10; female overall: 1. Laura Taylor 40:54, 2. Bethany Patterson 42:04, 3. Michelle Mudge-Riley 42:37; male masters: William Trainor 35:25; female masters: Jeanie Trent 43:30; male 10-14: Heath Anderson 44:40; female 10-14: Courtney Burton 47:40; male 15-19: Silas Frantz 35:21; female 15-19: Anna Cole 48:44; male 20-24: Matthew Richardson 35:17; female 20-24: Julia Morton 44:21; male 25-29: Carter Bowen 37:13; female 25-29: Katie Danahy 45:08; male 30-34: Nathan Phelan 36:26; female 30-34: Lucy Berger 44:58; male 35-39: Kevin Burcham 38:56; female 35-39: Victoria Tiase 44:25; male 40-44: Jeff Dahl 38:01; female 40-44: Monica Peters 46:49; male 45-49: Doug Fernandez 38:43; female 45-49: Gretchen Stipe 44:47; male 50-54: Steven Lerner 42:19; female 50-54: Linda Fournier 43:56; male 55-59: Monte Evans 43:33; female 55-59: Terry Miffleton 1:01:28; male 60-64: Tommy Gammon 47:13; female 60-64: Julie Appleby 1:05:44; male 65-69: George Longley 59:26; male 70 and up: Ron Henry 1:05:41; female 70 and up: Barbara Guerrieri 1:30:33

Angela Adkins loves “the speed, the jumps . . . the thrills.“ Angela Adkins won her division in the ATV Association’s 10-event, national motocross series that concluded Aug. 7 in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. There is no airport in the Charles City County backwoods, but there are frequent takeoffs and landings. Atop her oft-airborne, racing four-wheeler, Angela Adkins is all over the national radar for all-terrain vehicles.