Stealth fighter to get central role in Air Force Marathon

The F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter will have a highly visible role at the Air Force Marathon this fall.

The U.S. military’s newest fighter jet has been designated the “featured aircraft” at the series of races that in previous years highlighted the C-130 Hercules and the B-2 Spirit bomber, among other planes.

The F-35A is the Air Force version of the Joint Strike Fighter, a fifth generation, single-seat, single engine jet. The jet also has variants that will fly in the Marine Corps, Navy and several allied nations.

An expected 15,000 marathon runners from around the world will pace themselves through a full- and half-marathon, a 10K race at Wright-Patterson and Fairborn on Sept. 20 and a 5K race at Wright State University on Sept. 19.

The 10K sold out last month, the earliest the race with 2,000 running slots has maxed out, officials said.

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