The next time you hear from me, I will be a marathoner. Officially,
no joke, 26.2 miles under these legs in 1 shot. I am so excited about
this entire experience that I have no room left for nervousness. Well,
maybe a BIT of nervousness, but not much. As I sit here and reflect on
the past 5 months of training and fund raising, it really has been a
hell of a ride. I have raised $3286.00 for Team for Kids, and I am sure
it will be put to good use in educating the youth of the world on
growing up healthy and strong. Obviously, this feat couldn't have been
done without you guys, and I thank you so much for it.
Through Team for Kids, I have been offered so many opportunities to
make my story known - it started with an interview for the charity
newsletter...which then turned into a Runner's World article. Then a
Herald 2-page article. Next, an AWESOME interview by Monica Morales for
NBC's Today in New York. Then, CBS Radio with Marla Diamond. I was
then interviewed by Newsday, and there will be an article about me in it
tomorrow. The morning of the race, I will be interviewed by ABC TV. At
mile 22 of the race, I will be interviewed live on NBC. There is even a
possibility of an appearance on the Today Show on NBC in a month or so.
It just goes on and on, and I can't believe this is all happening to me
- I am just a regular guy who happened to finally get sick of being the
largest person in any room I was in, and did something about it. I
hope this exposure can help to inspire others to make some changes about
their lifestyles, and maybe they can even run a marathon someday! If my
story makes even one person lace up their sneakers and go for a run, it
would be my greatest achievement.
So, anyway, yeah, this is it. I am not sure what the deal is during
my live interviews, whether I can say hi to anyone or not, but even if I
can, it is going to be at mile 22 ... yes, 22. i.e. I will probably be
mostly delirious at that stage, thanking my fairy godmother and the
purple elephants for all of their help in accommodating me in
Never-Neverland...so I figured I am certain to forget to thank most
people while on TV, thus I decided to do it now, via email.
I can't even begin to tell you of the support I have received - so
many emails, messages, phone calls, text messages of encouragement and
positivity. It is enough to bring a tear to my eye, and means SO much
to me to know you are all thinking about me. I will be thinking of you
all as I pound the streets of NY.
Of course, I must thank my wife Angela for her support. The training
for this race has been very time consuming - I have had to go to the gym
or hit the road for many hours every week, leaving her to look after
Ella by herself. I know it took a toll on her, my being away so much,
and yet she stood behind me the whole way. It made me feel like the
most selfish bastard from time to time, yet she understands how
important this is to me, and she also knows about my psychosis of never
wanting to be overweight again, so she dealt with it all, and I owe her
more than I can express in writing. She is my soul mate, and I love her
more than anything.
If Angela is my soul, then Ella is my heart...everything I do is for
her, every breath I breathe is for her. I run this race for her, in the
hopes of being a good role model, a great daddy, and hopefully, a guide
on how to live a healthy, happy, long life.
My mom and dad, step-dad Marty, sister Melissa, soon-to-be-bro-in-law
Daniel, Nanny and Poppy, Aunt Gloria, Bruce and cousin Lauren... their
support and love has been invaluable as well. Mike Sabatino also
deserves a shout out here - he ran my first ever race with me, a 5k, and
stayed with me the entire time despite the obvious capability of leaving
me in the dust. He has moved onward and upward...or downward, to DC,
and we miss him (and his wife Susan of course!).
Everyone at work, especially my boss, Keith. He has been more than
supportive of this endeavor; he is, however, much more insane than I, as
he is doing an IronMan triathlon tomorrow, so rather than just do a
marathon, he finds it sensible to precede a 26.2 mile run with over 2
miles of swimming and 100+ miles of bike riding. Without the
flexibility of my work schedule, and the low-stress environment at work,
I don't know how I could have fit all of these runs in. This job change
has been the best thing I have done in a long time, and I look forward
to many more crazy training schedules in the years to come.
I wanted to give a special mention to Alex and Korinne and their new
little man Leyland James, who is having a bit of a rough start in life -
he is a little greek warrior who will battle through this, and I know he
and I will line up 18 years from now at the starting line of some race
some where, and he will dart past me like the old bastard I am. I also
run this race for the Mesimeris family with the hopes that Leyland kicks
ASS and finally can come home meet his new friend Ella.
Finally, as I mentioned in an earlier email, this race is dedicated to
the memory of Tara McConnach, who was taken too soon. Her name has been
written on my race jersey, right over my heart, and thoughts of her will
get me through all of these miles with a smile on my face. Every step I
have run while training for this race, over 480 miles, has been with her
in mind. Hopefully she knows that and is smiling someplace herself.
So I guess that's about all I have to say about that. I'm not a very
spiritual fellow, but the only way to describe how I feel right now is
blessed - to have such people in my life, such love, that I feel like I
could do ANYTHING. This race is for YOU.
Wish me luck, keep your eyes peeled for me, cheer for me, and be
prepared to see a grown man cry if you are at the finish line...! I
love you all.
-B
PS - here's the Newsday article from today's paper!
PPS - http://fanalert.ingnycmarathon.org/Alerts.aspx click there if you want to see how I am doing during the race!
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