SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
In perfect 45-degree overcast weather, 23 elite female runners from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard took to the starting line of the 8K Windcrest Golf Club course for the Armed Forces Championship Jan. 25.
Army Sgt. Colett Rampf-Cribbs, a radiology technician assigned to the World Class Athlete Program, Fort Carson, Colorado, kept pace for the first 2K with Navy Ensign Beth Sullivan, NSA Bethesda, Maryland.
“I started very conservative, behind Sullivan, and then moved up to run my own race, working progressively like my coach taught me,” Rampf-Cribbs said. “I finished very strong. It felt good out there.”
After the first 2K lap, Rampf-Cribbs said the female pack pace was too slow for her, so she decided to break away and run her own pace. During each of the four laps of the 8K race, she lengthened her lead, taking gold with at least a half of mile lead.
“I just picked up with each lap to finish the fastest at the end,” she said. “I knew it was going to be a tactical race. I’m still in my build up phase for the track and field season.”
Rampf-Cribbs said she’s currently putting in about 60 miles per week in training. She usually runs the 3,000-meter steeplechase, an obstacle race that consists of a water jump, hurdle and 3,000 meters, and shorter distances but said she runs cross country to work on running conservatively and then building progressive speed.
Though Rampf-Cribbs is used to competing with elites from all walks of life, she said she loves competing with her fellow service members the most.
“They work full time and yet make time to train and compete,” she said. “It’s so special, serving this country. There’s only so many people who raise their right hand to serve this country. Our main priority is to be a Soldier first. Seeing these phenomenal women accomplish such strong performances here, knowing they also work, deploy, serve on rotations, I have so much respect for them.”
She won first place at the Army Ten-Miler, women’s division, in 2022, and took second place in 2023. She’s a seven-time NCAA All-American.
Olympics
Rampf-Cribbs said her goal is the Olympics.
Making the Olympic team is the ultimate goal at the end of the day,” she said with a smile. “I want to represent the Army as best I can. It would mean a lot to me.”
Growing up in Germany, she had people tell her she wouldn’t succeed as a runner and when she came to the U.S., they told her she wouldn’t thrive here. She said she has had the support of family, friends and her husband, who serves as a signals officer with her at Fort Carson.
“I left all my family behind in Germany to come to the [United] States, and I have always tried to do my very best,” she said. “People have doubted me along the way. I like proving them wrong. It’s what drives me, but also the people who love me and support me, even from thousands of miles away. For them, I wake up every morning and for them, I work as hard as I can every day.”
Rampf-Cribbs said she hopes to inspire other Soldiers to pursue their dreams. “You can do so much more, like more than you ever would think,” she said.
Army Ten-Miler
Rampf-Cribbs had earned NCAA titles but hadn’t made her mark in running until the Army Ten-Miler. She ran a Ten-Miler race at Fort Carson, and her leadership asked her to be part of the Fort Carson Army Ten-Miler team. She said she went into the marathon with no expectations.
“I had never raced in a big event like that before,” she said. “I had no idea the size of the race. It was just awesome, not just winning the race, but to race along with those who have served, those who got hurt in combat, veterans and all the spectators, that’s the spirit of it. You don’t do the race for yourself. You do it for all your peers, all the past and future Soldiers.”