ROSEVILLE, Minn. -- Hundreds gather on a narrow street in suburban St. Paul, Minn. -- ready to sprint (or walk) in an annual "fun run" organized by the local school district.

Jeff Bibeau, a history teacher at the district's middle school (seventh and eighth graders), couldn't make it this year. He's a captain with the Minnesota National Guard, currently based in Iraq -- about 50 miles north of Baghdad.

But that didn't stop Bibeau, 39, who ran the same distance in Iraq at the same time the event in Minnesota was taking place.

"I check my school e-mail account a few days a week just to read what's going on," Bibeau wrote in an e-mail. "When I saw the walk/run (coming up), it felt like a way for me to stay connected to friends and family."

Two Worlds

In Minnesota, the conditions were raw -- even for November's first Saturday. The skies spat snowflakes in a stiff north wind. The temperature struggled just above the freezing mark.

In Iraq, Bibeau sais it wasn't much warmer: only 54 degrees at race time under hazy skies.

In Minnesota, the runners and walkers sauntered a few miles through area parks and tree-lined neighborhoods, eventually ending at the district's high school.

In Iraq, Bibeau noted his running course wasn't as cozy. He's in a war zone.

"We are between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers near the flood plain so the area is very flat," he wrote. "We had a record rain last week that washed out a portion of our course, so we had a stretch of muddy terrain we had to navigate around. The rest of the course was concrete, packed dirt and crushed rock. We weaved through concrete barriers, fences and barbed wire."

Daddy's Girl

While Bibeau ran with a few of his fellow Guardsmen, back home his 5-year-old daughter, Petra, had her own marching orders.

"I have Daddy with me," she said, pointing to a doll she was carrying in a backpack. Upon closer inspection, a photo of Bibeau was printed on the plush figure. Daddy was her doll, and he would be with her every step of the way.

Also along for the walk: Bibeau's father, mother, wife and another daughter, 9-ear-old Isabel. Dad has been away since June, and won't come back until next summer.

Until then, the mission continues for Bibeau -- who is stationed with the human resources section of the 34th Combat Aviation Brigade. It's time away from his loved ones, but he'll bring a lot to the table when he comes back -- especially as a history teacher.

"I have been deployed overseas about five years since 1989," he wrote. "This brings a lot of experience into the classroom, and I love to tell stories. And of course, students are a captive audience."

No Illusions

"He really misses his work and the school and the kids," said Bibeau's wife, Alison. She also said she has no illusions that her husband will be home soon, despite a change in the White House.

Bibeau, who was a voting assistance officer for the batallion, said President-elect Barack Obama's big day "came and went, and everyone just kept focusing on the mission at hand."

"It's Iraq," said Bibeau's mother, Shari. "Anywhere in that area is dangerous. I can't wait until he gets home."

Nor can Bibeau, who hopes to run on his home course next November.

"Perhaps the hardest part about being a Guardsman is that you have an entire second life outside of the Army," he wrote. "When you get deployed it creates a void."