I Can Only Imagine

I was wrong, really wrong. Two months ago, after starting my latest running project, I was put in touch with a guy who was starting an organization, JRunners, for Jewish runners, along with two friends. Their first event was a 200K relay race. They were hoping to find 50-100 runners to run from Brooklyn to the Catskills, a distance of almost 125 miles. All proceeds would help Mendy, a friend of theirs who has ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). I thought they were crazy. With three months to go and only 20 runners signed up, I was sure the race would be a flop. Not only that, it didn’t sound challenging or fun. After all, each runner would be running about 12 miles, less than the distance run each Sunday by serious runners. Intrigued, I signed on.
The race ended yesterday. (How cool is it that I can’t write “took place: yesterday, as it started Wednesday and lasted over 20 hours?) It was an incredible experience despite the fact that I was not one of the runners.

Among the highlights:
• Watching Chaim, only 12 years old, keeping up, and passing, the old guys
• Having a runner get so into his run that he ran across the Manhattan Bridge instead of the Brooklyn Bridge
• The first race in history, I have no doubt about this one, that had a 2 hour “time out” mid-race to make sure all runners who wanted to, had time to pray
• Blood, sweat and vomit (no tears, as far as I know) poured out by 60 runners
• Getting to produce and be interviewed on a 3 hour radio show (JM in the AM with Nachum Segal, who really is an amazing guy) that was broadcast from one of the legs of the race
• Driving with my buddy Roy from exchange point to exchange point and watching tired and excited runners give everything they had
• Watching a friend, Moishe Gamms run the last two legs of his race after his foot got run over. He even sprinted the last ¼ mile to give his team the victory
• Seeing the camaraderie develop among the runners despite the differences in race, religion, level of observance and age
• Being in such a good mood that I stayed calm when my car stuck in a ditch for 45 minutes when I pulled over to man one of the exchange points
• Spreading the word about ALS in the community (We really made a difference)
• Raising lots of money for Mendy and his family
• Getting to meet Mendy

I never could have imagined the incredible success that this event would be on so many levels. I never could have imagined enjoying a race so much, when I wasn’t running in it. I never could have imagined how much could be accomplished by over 100 people (runners, volunteers and more) who cared so much about a fellow Jew, who they had never met.

What’s next for me and for JRunners? I can only imagine.

PLEASE donate in my mom’s memory to help children with cancer:
http://www.teamlifeline.org/mypage.php?myid=56579

I Was Wrong

I was wrong. There is no other way to put it. I thought I was saying something deep when I wrote that the three scariest letters in the alphabet are DNF (did not finish). Then I went to a meeting last Thursday that showed me how naïve and simplistic I had been.

The similarities between the man I heard about with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and I are many. We are both 38 and fathers of large families. So it immediately hit a nerve. Than I heard what ALS does to a person. How it shuts down his body little by little ultimately ending in death. How his mind stays active, but he is unable to move and ultimately unable to speak. How children are unsure how to relate to a parent who hears there every word, but is unable to do anything else. After hearing all of that information I knew I had no choice to get involved.

Before last week’s Boston Marathon, the Boston Globe had a feature written by runners, on why they run . It was a really touching section. A number of people wrote “I Run for those who can’t”. I know from personal experience how much running is transformed when you run to help someone else. It seemed like no coincidence when the founders of JRunners told me that that they were using that phrase for their organization. By the time I walked out of the room, I knew that I would do anything I could to help them in their quest to put on a 200K Relay this summer. It’s true I am busy and already have a lot on my plate. Still I am hooked.

I hope that in some way, you will join me.