As many of you know, I’m an avid runner which is ironic because, when I was a kid, I hated running. I was slow, it just wasn’t fun, and I avoided it like the plague.
Something happened in high school, though. My twin brother Jimmy joined the cross-country team, which is traditionally a Fall based sport. The only activity I had going on in the fall was helping with our school’s talent show—Green and Gold—and I found myself with way too much time on my hands with manifested itself in watching soap operas after school with my grandmother. Yes, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light were our favorites (CBS all the way).
When I started to get overly invested in Alan Michael Spaulding’s Apartment with the brick wall, I knew I had to make a change in my life. So, I joined Jimmy on the cross-country team. Coach Lapinski had another “man” to add to his roster. (Side note, anyone else thing that the woman over my left shoulder in this action shot looks like Barb from Stranger Things? #justiceforbarb).
The first three weeks were the most difficult as I was building up my endurance and strength. I made new guy friends like Brent Bodick, and a whole host of friends of the opposite sex, given there were at least 4 girls to every one boy on the team. The new friendships were great, but what I really discovered was that I actually liked running, so much so that, after fall cross country I joined winter indoor track. I was hooked.
I kept running in the off season and, when I left high school for the University of Connecticut, I avoided the freshman 15 by, you guessed it, running my butt off in Storrs. Now, at 48, I’m actually running more miles a month than I did when I was running on a team. Which leads me to this…
In just under a month, on May 20th, I’ll be running in the RBC Brooklyn Half Marathon. As part of this event, I have to raise at least $500 to support Rising New York Road Runners—the New York Road Runners’ free youth program and events platform – designed to help kids of all ages and abilities to build confidence, gain motivation, and develop healthy attitudes toward physical activity that last for life! Basically, I want to help pass on the gifts that running has given me—better health, friendship, and peace of mind to name just a few—to help city kids become physically and emotionally strong.
I’d really appreciate any donation that you can provide. You can click here to make your donation, which will help me share the gift of running with some really great kids.
Thank you for your support.
