The simple answer is YES. Many of us already know that...we can see the physical changes, feel the emotional changes and those around us know that without our running fix we are not fun to be around. I may not be that fun to be around WHEN I am running consistently can you imagine what it would be like if I wasn't?
So we all can feel the differences in our lives that running has made but NOW there is empirical rock solid proof that running has a positive effect on our lives. Stanford University researchers began to study 538 middle aged runners back in the 80's. It was the height of the first American running craze and many critics were sure that the runners were destined to suffer serious knee injuries and other injuries as a result of running too much. DID IT HAPPEN??? No, in fact the Stanford study showed just the opposite. It showed that runners do not have higher rates of osteoarthritis and total knee replacements. AND the onset of normal aging disabilities appeared 12 to 16 years later in life within the runners studied than among non runners.
THINK ABOUT THAT.....being able to move more freely maybe without using a cane, walker or wheelchair for an extra 10 years or more...
The study also showed that there were half as many deaths in the group of runners than in the non runners studied. The co author of the Study Dr. James Fries, said "the longevity effect was big. It surprised us. But the even bigger difference was morbidity rate - your overall quality of life."
Running and other weight bearing exercise like vigorous walking or using an elliptical machine work to strengthen your bones, tendons and muscles. they also help you reduce your risk of America's biggest killer...Heart Disease.
One of the keys to avoiding injuries while running is the investment in a good pair of properly fit running shoes. Also confirmed was that the best time to stretch is after you run, ideally for 15-20 minutes. The muscles respond better after they are warm.
Dr. Amadeus Mason, an orthopedist at Emory University's Sports Medicine Center says "Studies show running itself is not bad on the joints. the issue is if you get an injury and keep running on it."
So what we intuitively knew all along is true...Running is good for you. What are you waiting for get out there and start running and don't stop.
Happy Trails
Friday, November 21, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
NYC Marathon
I believe its important to write something today about the NYCM and marathons in general. I was lucky enough to be able to travel across the Hudson and watch the NYCM on Sunday. Andrea went with me and was whooping it up for all of the runners but especially those we knew or any TNT runner that passed by. It was a beautiful running day and I was a bit jealous of the runners as it was the best day at NYCM weather wise that I ever remember. A friend, Drew M, owner of Ridgewood Cycle and a Friend of TNT, commented to me that it was the best weather day he ever experienced and he has run NYC 7 straight years now. For the spectators it was equally as beautiful although when not moving it got a bit chilly at times. It is an incredible experience to watch as the number of runners making the turn from Fifth Ave onto Central park South by the Plaza Hotel increases dramatically...at that point they have about .7 of a mile to go and I know from personal experience that the crowds cheering make all the difference in the world...your body is about done but the crowd will not LET you walk...and when you pick out a runner whether by the name on their shirt or by their organization or color of their shirt and encourage them individually and then they pick up their pace or start to run again...you know that you made a little bit of difference.....seeing Andy and my sometime running partner Rob I, run by on their way to a sub 3 hour finish and then Drew, Andy V, Kevin M, Kathy B, Carrie, Varda, Kevin H, Carlos P, Beth O'C, Beth M, Joann B (I did not see her), Jenn M, Megan M...the list goes on and on everyone running their own race against their watch and their mind and body...its inspiring....
Then this morning I mentioned that a second runner had died and Andrea asked whether that people dying was a usual or unusual circumstance...and that made me realize that many people may be asking the same question ....do people die in every marathon? is marathoning safe??? NO, people do NOT die in every marathon, the two deaths this year were the first since 1994 at NYC....so in 14 years approximately 500,000- 550,000 runners had finished NYC without a death....in Chicago last year one young man died in the terrible heat but he had a pre-existing heart condition....did these men die because of the marathon? who knows..only the Doctors can say...were these men in good health? did they train properly? did they take something which contributed to their deaths? we may never know ....BUT marathoning is safe..you have to prepare but its safe...in fact a study by Stanford University was just completed that studied long distance runners over a 21 year period and found that LD running reduced the risk of all major diseases by 40% AND there was a reduction in knee damage in comparison to non long distance runners so running actually improves the health of your knees.....HOWEVER, it is important to check with your doctor at least yearly and especially before starting a long distance training program to determine whether you have any condition which would prevent you from running long distances safely...even the most fit athletes in the world...elite marathoners are not immune...Ryan Reed Shay, one the USA's most promising marathoners died during the US Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park in November 2007....he had a pre-existing condition which resulted in his death...his brother flew in from Korea and ran with some of Ryan's Notre Dame teammates on Sunday...his family including his widow Alicia, a world class runner in her own right spectated from the spot in Central park where Ryan died last year...as I watched the runners in the ND singlets pass by I smiled and got emotional at the same time and then read how several of the ND runners and Ryan's brother had a rough patch but Ryan pulled them through...know that in each run that you do (race or training) that there are Ryan Shay's out there helping push you through as you raise money to wipe out blood related cancers...so RUN Safely and be proud of your accomplishments.
Run well!!!
Then this morning I mentioned that a second runner had died and Andrea asked whether that people dying was a usual or unusual circumstance...and that made me realize that many people may be asking the same question ....do people die in every marathon? is marathoning safe??? NO, people do NOT die in every marathon, the two deaths this year were the first since 1994 at NYC....so in 14 years approximately 500,000- 550,000 runners had finished NYC without a death....in Chicago last year one young man died in the terrible heat but he had a pre-existing heart condition....did these men die because of the marathon? who knows..only the Doctors can say...were these men in good health? did they train properly? did they take something which contributed to their deaths? we may never know ....BUT marathoning is safe..you have to prepare but its safe...in fact a study by Stanford University was just completed that studied long distance runners over a 21 year period and found that LD running reduced the risk of all major diseases by 40% AND there was a reduction in knee damage in comparison to non long distance runners so running actually improves the health of your knees.....HOWEVER, it is important to check with your doctor at least yearly and especially before starting a long distance training program to determine whether you have any condition which would prevent you from running long distances safely...even the most fit athletes in the world...elite marathoners are not immune...Ryan Reed Shay, one the USA's most promising marathoners died during the US Men's Olympic Marathon Trials in Central Park in November 2007....he had a pre-existing condition which resulted in his death...his brother flew in from Korea and ran with some of Ryan's Notre Dame teammates on Sunday...his family including his widow Alicia, a world class runner in her own right spectated from the spot in Central park where Ryan died last year...as I watched the runners in the ND singlets pass by I smiled and got emotional at the same time and then read how several of the ND runners and Ryan's brother had a rough patch but Ryan pulled them through...know that in each run that you do (race or training) that there are Ryan Shay's out there helping push you through as you raise money to wipe out blood related cancers...so RUN Safely and be proud of your accomplishments.
Run well!!!
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Nike After Thoughts
I returned from spectating at the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco on late Monday night. I had some catching up to do at work yesterday and i am now finally able to post my thoughts about the weekend. I have spectated at the NYCM previously but this was different...I had actually run with many of the participants during their training so I had a personal rooting interest at this race. I was hoping that everyone from NNJ would set a huge PR. of course all of the first timers were going to PR but I silently hoped that tehy would achieve the time goal that they had in mind.
It was much more difficult to watch a race when you have run with so many of the runners. What made it even more difficult was the fact that I have coached (last year was Melissa's back up so was just in a support role) at this event 3 times and when I saw one of the NNJ runners I felt bad that I was not in a position to do anything except shout words of encouragement to the runners as they passed. I tried and I hope I succeeded in staying out of Melissa and Lynne's way throughout the weekend and not step on THEIR team. The coaches work as a team during training but the Nike Team was Melissa and Lynne's team.
Also I found it difficult to watch as other coaches from other chapters passed me on the sidelines, wishing i was out there making a difference like you all were. I felt sort of helpless and inferior to all of the runners, walkers and coaches and especially to the real spectators who were cheering loudly for EVERYONE who passed...I was the third wheel on a speedy bike and was slowing down the forward progress...for that I apologize to everyone...
It was a fantastic weekend and the entire team did a great job...I believe that almost everyone set a new PR and we all had a great weekend together...looking forward to the next event with each of you ....
It was much more difficult to watch a race when you have run with so many of the runners. What made it even more difficult was the fact that I have coached (last year was Melissa's back up so was just in a support role) at this event 3 times and when I saw one of the NNJ runners I felt bad that I was not in a position to do anything except shout words of encouragement to the runners as they passed. I tried and I hope I succeeded in staying out of Melissa and Lynne's way throughout the weekend and not step on THEIR team. The coaches work as a team during training but the Nike Team was Melissa and Lynne's team.
Also I found it difficult to watch as other coaches from other chapters passed me on the sidelines, wishing i was out there making a difference like you all were. I felt sort of helpless and inferior to all of the runners, walkers and coaches and especially to the real spectators who were cheering loudly for EVERYONE who passed...I was the third wheel on a speedy bike and was slowing down the forward progress...for that I apologize to everyone...
It was a fantastic weekend and the entire team did a great job...I believe that almost everyone set a new PR and we all had a great weekend together...looking forward to the next event with each of you ....
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Terrible Thursday- Remembering a Friend
I am posting this a little early because I have a meeting in the morning....I have been thinking of Thursday now for several days...hard to believe its been 7 years since the WTC attacks...I will remember that day detail by detail vividly for the rest of my life...I was driving to the dentist's office on Rte 208 and heard a report on the radio that a small plane had crashed into the WTC, when I arrirved at the dentist they were in an office meeting I asked them to put the TV on and well you know the rest....
I wrote the following two years ago when I was coaching the Nike Team, you will see some familiar names including Coach Melissa's ( she was running her first TNT event)...rather than trying to express my thoughts and emotions I think this sums up how I still feel today...its almost a bit weird that two years ago we had run in Mahwah as we did this past Saturday...I don't have the attendance sheet from this past week but that doesn't matter you can all add your names to the list of HEROES...amazing that my contacts don't work they are a new pair ...but everything is very blurry as I try to type...thanks for doing what you do
Hi team,
It's exactly 8:45 AM and in one minute I am sure I will at least be teary eyed if not shedding a tear.
I am having a truly bittersweet day (its now 8:47 am) I could not be prouder and more honored to know a group like you. Many of you started as beginners and now are runners...watching you achieve new heights every week and listening to you as we run has been a pleasure...You all can be described in two words...HERO and RUNNER.
Eighteen of you ran up and down some tough hills yesterday in Mahwah for between 15 and 18 miles...you are incredibly strong be people and are doing this so others may nopt have to suffer in the future...Thank You!!! Thank you for making a diffrence in my life and even more so in the lives of many who will never see you faces.
And then as I drove into the office this morning and listened to Ray Charles sing " America the Beautiful" with tears running down my face, as they are right now...remembering the 2949 people who died, several who I knew casually and one who was a good friend...for those of you who have bar hopped in Hoboken may have met him too...formally Robert Wayne Hobson III (Wayne) who opened "Hobson's Choice" It's now 9:03 and the second plane just hit the South Tower.
Sunday's Heros:
MCM:
Jenn McKenny
Patrick O'Callaghan
Andrea Matz
Gerry Ferraro
Amanda Sabatos
Jenn Rygiel Boyd
Jack Myers
PF Changs Alumni:
JoAnn Beneat
Pam Conlon
Tamara Lynch - TNT Illinois Chapter
Nike:
Jose Amaya
Clare Talarico
Barbara Gilmartin
Melissa Muilenburg
Marsha Anderson
Marie San Pietro
Shannon Ferguson
Varda Carbley
Sorry if this was a bit of a downer but it helped me just to express what I am feeling right now.
You are the definition of Heros..."Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things"
If nothing else, hug your kids today just a little tighter, be a little more tolerant of dopey things that others do...continue to do so much good for other people....you are very special people and thinking of you makes the bad things in life seem insignificant and tolerable.
Thanks for listening,
Bill
I wrote the following two years ago when I was coaching the Nike Team, you will see some familiar names including Coach Melissa's ( she was running her first TNT event)...rather than trying to express my thoughts and emotions I think this sums up how I still feel today...its almost a bit weird that two years ago we had run in Mahwah as we did this past Saturday...I don't have the attendance sheet from this past week but that doesn't matter you can all add your names to the list of HEROES...amazing that my contacts don't work they are a new pair ...but everything is very blurry as I try to type...thanks for doing what you do
Hi team,
It's exactly 8:45 AM and in one minute I am sure I will at least be teary eyed if not shedding a tear.
I am having a truly bittersweet day (its now 8:47 am) I could not be prouder and more honored to know a group like you. Many of you started as beginners and now are runners...watching you achieve new heights every week and listening to you as we run has been a pleasure...You all can be described in two words...HERO and RUNNER.
Eighteen of you ran up and down some tough hills yesterday in Mahwah for between 15 and 18 miles...you are incredibly strong be people and are doing this so others may nopt have to suffer in the future...Thank You!!! Thank you for making a diffrence in my life and even more so in the lives of many who will never see you faces.
And then as I drove into the office this morning and listened to Ray Charles sing " America the Beautiful" with tears running down my face, as they are right now...remembering the 2949 people who died, several who I knew casually and one who was a good friend...for those of you who have bar hopped in Hoboken may have met him too...formally Robert Wayne Hobson III (Wayne) who opened "Hobson's Choice" It's now 9:03 and the second plane just hit the South Tower.
Sunday's Heros:
MCM:
Jenn McKenny
Patrick O'Callaghan
Andrea Matz
Gerry Ferraro
Amanda Sabatos
Jenn Rygiel Boyd
Jack Myers
PF Changs Alumni:
JoAnn Beneat
Pam Conlon
Tamara Lynch - TNT Illinois Chapter
Nike:
Jose Amaya
Clare Talarico
Barbara Gilmartin
Melissa Muilenburg
Marsha Anderson
Marie San Pietro
Shannon Ferguson
Varda Carbley
Sorry if this was a bit of a downer but it helped me just to express what I am feeling right now.
You are the definition of Heros..."Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things"
If nothing else, hug your kids today just a little tighter, be a little more tolerant of dopey things that others do...continue to do so much good for other people....you are very special people and thinking of you makes the bad things in life seem insignificant and tolerable.
Thanks for listening,
Bill
Running with a Purpose
I wish I could take credit for the title but it is actually the title of an article I read last night that touched me and prompted me to write here today although I have something else in the works for tomorrow...It was article in Runners World by Richard Murphy ( read it if you get the chance Oct 2008 Issue). The article hit me for several reasons. Its the story of a son who while waiting for his father as he had a malignant tumor, one the doctors compared to the size of a football or a small watermelon, removed at Memorial Sloan Kettering cancer Center in NY. notices a brochure for Fred's Team. For those that do not know Fred's Team is named for Fred Lebow, the father of the NYCM, he and a few others had a vision of a marathon in NY which started as a run completely in Central park and grew under his leadership to what it is today...traveling all 5 boroughs with 40,000 of your closest running friends....if you ever run another (or only doing one) run NYCM...its a tough course to run fast, its a tough course period but there is nothing else in the world like it...it is an experience that no one should miss...I digress....
So Mr. Murphy decides if his father beats the odds and survives , he will beat the odds and run a marathon....training is going ok until his 18 miler which he is going to run while visiting his dad, he has to limp home 13 miles in with aching knees. Mr Murphy recounts the look on his father's face when he saw him hobbling in the driveway which he describes as "his silent fear about his own health unmasked by the realization that maybe everything wasn't going to turn out ok after all." The Doctor tell Mr. Murphy that he has patellar tendinitis and he is done running for now. His father pled his case and explained why he was running the marathon..the doctor said there were other ways to raise money for cancer.
Mr. Murphy finds out a week later that his father's cancer has returned. This inspires him. "If my father could take on chemotherapy, I could take on the marathon.
Mr. Murphy finished the Dublin Marathon, although he never learned about Body Glide and suffered some chafing distress...he called his father and told him he had finished...his after lost his battle six months later....so you see some of what touched me in the story but here is the clincher....
Mr. Murphy taught me a lesson...when he wrote..." I would not feel cheated. I learned something on the streets of Dublin. In a marathon, success is all about shaving seconds off the time it takes to complete your journey. In life, its all about stretching time and appreciating the distance between each breath, something I did not appreciate until I struggled to breathe. To only have six months with someone you love may seem unfair.BUT IF YOU CAN VIEW THAT DISTANCE IN HOURS, SECONDS EVEN, IT SEEMS LIKE A GIFT."
I like many other seem focused on running from one task to another worried about getting everything done as quick as possible....I can say that I will slow down every day but I will try and remember Mr. Murphy's words more and more often and try and stretch that distance as far as I can as often as I can...and remember what the Penguin says "take your time during the race and get your moneys worth" At least in your first one and then worry about your time in the next one...no one can ever take away the title of MARATHONER OR HALF MARATHONER regardless of how long it took you or how many years ago you ran it....and if you are ever disappointed by your time remember what Richard Murphy wrote and then get in your car and go drive 13.1 or 26.2 miles away from your house and see what you accomplished.
So Mr. Murphy decides if his father beats the odds and survives , he will beat the odds and run a marathon....training is going ok until his 18 miler which he is going to run while visiting his dad, he has to limp home 13 miles in with aching knees. Mr Murphy recounts the look on his father's face when he saw him hobbling in the driveway which he describes as "his silent fear about his own health unmasked by the realization that maybe everything wasn't going to turn out ok after all." The Doctor tell Mr. Murphy that he has patellar tendinitis and he is done running for now. His father pled his case and explained why he was running the marathon..the doctor said there were other ways to raise money for cancer.
Mr. Murphy finds out a week later that his father's cancer has returned. This inspires him. "If my father could take on chemotherapy, I could take on the marathon.
Mr. Murphy finished the Dublin Marathon, although he never learned about Body Glide and suffered some chafing distress...he called his father and told him he had finished...his after lost his battle six months later....so you see some of what touched me in the story but here is the clincher....
Mr. Murphy taught me a lesson...when he wrote..." I would not feel cheated. I learned something on the streets of Dublin. In a marathon, success is all about shaving seconds off the time it takes to complete your journey. In life, its all about stretching time and appreciating the distance between each breath, something I did not appreciate until I struggled to breathe. To only have six months with someone you love may seem unfair.BUT IF YOU CAN VIEW THAT DISTANCE IN HOURS, SECONDS EVEN, IT SEEMS LIKE A GIFT."
I like many other seem focused on running from one task to another worried about getting everything done as quick as possible....I can say that I will slow down every day but I will try and remember Mr. Murphy's words more and more often and try and stretch that distance as far as I can as often as I can...and remember what the Penguin says "take your time during the race and get your moneys worth" At least in your first one and then worry about your time in the next one...no one can ever take away the title of MARATHONER OR HALF MARATHONER regardless of how long it took you or how many years ago you ran it....and if you are ever disappointed by your time remember what Richard Murphy wrote and then get in your car and go drive 13.1 or 26.2 miles away from your house and see what you accomplished.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Does anyone read this blog??
Even if no one reads this blog I enjoy occassionally writing random thoughts here...it can be therapeautic....if you read the blog please leave a comment good bad or indifferent just so I know whether i am writing to myself or not...I will try and post more frequently
Monday, July 21, 2008
Non Running Related - Life is Fragile
Its been a long time since I posted anything here.
Very busy at work and trying to get things done around the house etc always thinking I never have enough time to get all I NEED to get done...do I really NEED to get some of these things done??? Yes and No...
Then a dose of reality hits and then hits again....I am sitting here knowing where I am going with this and as a result I somewhat down ...but I really have it pretty good overall..especially compared to what others are going through everyday and for some an especially difficult time. Some of you may have heard the news or read the paper today and saw that an Ar gentian man ...32 years old died while doing the swim leg of the NYC Triathlon on Sunday...some swimmers said it may have been due to jellyfish stings...leading to cardiac arrest.. an apparently healthy man dying while exercising....I am not writing this to scare anyone or discourage you from doing a tri...they are alot of fun and I really encourage everyone to try them out.....just pointing out the fragility of life......
Then my main focus here...it is coming up on the one year anniversary of the death of Christopher Barron....some of you know that name immediately ...some may recognize it but can't place it immediately... others have never heard that name...Christopher was a 9 year old boy from Glen Rock, NJ who battled ALL from the age of 3 and eventually lost his battle to AML last July 23rd...he was an eldest son to Richard and Suzanne Barron...an older brother to Ryan...a grandson to Anthony and Colleen and to his paternal grandparents...a great friend to countless kids...a cousin to at least 7 people including his best buddy Jake....a nephew to many aunts and uncles including our coach Melissa Muilenburg...a Mets fan through thick and thin and an inspiration and hero to alot of people...including me...I unfortunately never met Christopher before he was taken from us way too soon...but I feel like I knew him just a little...I heard the many stories both good and bad....heartbreaking and some of hope from Melissa, on the run and while sitting down just talking about Christopher...I worked for his grandfather while in law school so I had a connection there.....
Christopher was a hero to the end...he was a young boy who had a very special spirituality and inner peace...he apparently never complained or asked "why me?"...he was concerned with how his family members were doing as they watched him battle everyday...he was concerned that they were going to be ok....I have heard the stories of how he had a very special bond with his Mom......I remember last year when Melissa was setting up a Bone marrow Drive to help find a match for Christopher and she was hoping for a few hundred people to show up and get tested....as I pulled into the parking lot at the Glen Rock Ambulance Corps I saw the line of people out the door and down the steps...and the banner that Christopher's classmates made with their hand prints all over it asking people ..."To Help Their Friend Christopher"....seeing TNT alumni including Christopher's teacher who I had coached at RNR Virgina Beach..its a very small world....friends of Christopher's parents...people from Glen Rock...strangers who just saw the request of the signs and showed up to help a fellow human being...I may be off in my number but my recollection is that over 1200 people signed up to be tested at that drive and a couple of others as a direct result of Christopher and his Aunt Melissa...Christopher was working his magic already!
At the Chicago marathon last October it was unusually hot...93 degrees give or take a degree during the race...hundreds of people passing out ...sub 3 hour runners...4..5 hour runners it did not matter...Christopher's Aunt Melissa was there and called on his magic to get her through and he got her through...her strength had a lot to do with it too!!! I flew down to Houston last January because of Chicago's heat my attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon did not go as planned....no one but Melissa knew i was down there and she only knew just in case I needed some help back in NJ for something....as i was running and passed the halfway mark....I was on pace feeling good....I took a hammergel and it immediately came back up...this had never happened before...I was in a panic..was my race over??? I had Christopher's picture on the back of my race bib...and I had a St Christopher's medal that his Aunt Melissa had given me pinned to my shirt...I rubbed them both and asked Christopher for his help...I calmed down and realized that I was on pace...I was going to be ok and with an angel on my shoulder I was able to get back to race pace and crossed that finish line and was headed to Boston....yes I had put in the miles and the hard work but running is at least 50 % mental and Christopher was with me every step of the way...not to get preachy or religious (and I am far from that) but I talk to him at least once during every race ...thanks Christopher!
And this past weekend...we were running in Mountain Lakes..Aunt Melissa's hometown...she did a wonderful heartfelt Mission Moment and as she was speaking (and I thought I was the only one that noticed) a tiny rabbit (bigger than a baby but not yet an adult) hopped into the group and stopped..he/she hopped away when Melissa was done...I saw that as a sign and then later Jill Hague asked me if I had seen the rabbit...I am reading into things???? Maybe.....I am a big Tigger fan (because he's the only one!!!) and for those of you that know Winnie the Pooh...remember his friend's name...Yes that's right...CHRISTOPHER RABBIT...coincidence??? I think not....
And when you are faced with a tough moment in your life or during a run ask for Christopher's help and I am sure he will be there on your shoulder to guide you along
I know how I have been affected by this special young man and I know for a fact that others have been also....I know I could not hope to convey how special he is to me and I can tell you this was both one of the easiest things I have ever written and at the same time the most difficult....I hope those that read this can gain some insight into this special boy and take something positive and also please keep the Barron, Andora, Muilenburg etc families in your thought and prayers especially this week...it is a very tough time for them and I can not imagine how they have coped so well in the face of such a terrible loss...I know they all miss him terribly ..... Thank you for reading .............
Very busy at work and trying to get things done around the house etc always thinking I never have enough time to get all I NEED to get done...do I really NEED to get some of these things done??? Yes and No...
Then a dose of reality hits and then hits again....I am sitting here knowing where I am going with this and as a result I somewhat down ...but I really have it pretty good overall..especially compared to what others are going through everyday and for some an especially difficult time. Some of you may have heard the news or read the paper today and saw that an Ar gentian man ...32 years old died while doing the swim leg of the NYC Triathlon on Sunday...some swimmers said it may have been due to jellyfish stings...leading to cardiac arrest.. an apparently healthy man dying while exercising....I am not writing this to scare anyone or discourage you from doing a tri...they are alot of fun and I really encourage everyone to try them out.....just pointing out the fragility of life......
Then my main focus here...it is coming up on the one year anniversary of the death of Christopher Barron....some of you know that name immediately ...some may recognize it but can't place it immediately... others have never heard that name...Christopher was a 9 year old boy from Glen Rock, NJ who battled ALL from the age of 3 and eventually lost his battle to AML last July 23rd...he was an eldest son to Richard and Suzanne Barron...an older brother to Ryan...a grandson to Anthony and Colleen and to his paternal grandparents...a great friend to countless kids...a cousin to at least 7 people including his best buddy Jake....a nephew to many aunts and uncles including our coach Melissa Muilenburg...a Mets fan through thick and thin and an inspiration and hero to alot of people...including me...I unfortunately never met Christopher before he was taken from us way too soon...but I feel like I knew him just a little...I heard the many stories both good and bad....heartbreaking and some of hope from Melissa, on the run and while sitting down just talking about Christopher...I worked for his grandfather while in law school so I had a connection there.....
Christopher was a hero to the end...he was a young boy who had a very special spirituality and inner peace...he apparently never complained or asked "why me?"...he was concerned with how his family members were doing as they watched him battle everyday...he was concerned that they were going to be ok....I have heard the stories of how he had a very special bond with his Mom......I remember last year when Melissa was setting up a Bone marrow Drive to help find a match for Christopher and she was hoping for a few hundred people to show up and get tested....as I pulled into the parking lot at the Glen Rock Ambulance Corps I saw the line of people out the door and down the steps...and the banner that Christopher's classmates made with their hand prints all over it asking people ..."To Help Their Friend Christopher"....seeing TNT alumni including Christopher's teacher who I had coached at RNR Virgina Beach..its a very small world....friends of Christopher's parents...people from Glen Rock...strangers who just saw the request of the signs and showed up to help a fellow human being...I may be off in my number but my recollection is that over 1200 people signed up to be tested at that drive and a couple of others as a direct result of Christopher and his Aunt Melissa...Christopher was working his magic already!
At the Chicago marathon last October it was unusually hot...93 degrees give or take a degree during the race...hundreds of people passing out ...sub 3 hour runners...4..5 hour runners it did not matter...Christopher's Aunt Melissa was there and called on his magic to get her through and he got her through...her strength had a lot to do with it too!!! I flew down to Houston last January because of Chicago's heat my attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon did not go as planned....no one but Melissa knew i was down there and she only knew just in case I needed some help back in NJ for something....as i was running and passed the halfway mark....I was on pace feeling good....I took a hammergel and it immediately came back up...this had never happened before...I was in a panic..was my race over??? I had Christopher's picture on the back of my race bib...and I had a St Christopher's medal that his Aunt Melissa had given me pinned to my shirt...I rubbed them both and asked Christopher for his help...I calmed down and realized that I was on pace...I was going to be ok and with an angel on my shoulder I was able to get back to race pace and crossed that finish line and was headed to Boston....yes I had put in the miles and the hard work but running is at least 50 % mental and Christopher was with me every step of the way...not to get preachy or religious (and I am far from that) but I talk to him at least once during every race ...thanks Christopher!
And this past weekend...we were running in Mountain Lakes..Aunt Melissa's hometown...she did a wonderful heartfelt Mission Moment and as she was speaking (and I thought I was the only one that noticed) a tiny rabbit (bigger than a baby but not yet an adult) hopped into the group and stopped..he/she hopped away when Melissa was done...I saw that as a sign and then later Jill Hague asked me if I had seen the rabbit...I am reading into things???? Maybe.....I am a big Tigger fan (because he's the only one!!!) and for those of you that know Winnie the Pooh...remember his friend's name...Yes that's right...CHRISTOPHER RABBIT...coincidence??? I think not....
And when you are faced with a tough moment in your life or during a run ask for Christopher's help and I am sure he will be there on your shoulder to guide you along
I know how I have been affected by this special young man and I know for a fact that others have been also....I know I could not hope to convey how special he is to me and I can tell you this was both one of the easiest things I have ever written and at the same time the most difficult....I hope those that read this can gain some insight into this special boy and take something positive and also please keep the Barron, Andora, Muilenburg etc families in your thought and prayers especially this week...it is a very tough time for them and I can not imagine how they have coped so well in the face of such a terrible loss...I know they all miss him terribly ..... Thank you for reading .............
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