Photos provided
Justin Scheid at the 2014 Boston Marathon.
Scheid and Monico are both 2004 graduates of Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta.
“It was a big month,” Scheid said. “(Being selected) did surprise me. I definitely enjoyed having being nominated.”
Alexis Tarrazi after a training run.
GOSHEN — “A marathon is hundreds of miles. The finish is the last 26.2” – unknown.
I came across this quote a few weeks ago and it carries more truth to it than I ever considered. I am training for my second full marathon – the Hambletonian Marathon in Goshen set for Oct. 19.
The journey to completing a marathon is much more than running 26.2 miles. A typical training plan takes around 18 weeks or 4 months to train for. In that time you will cover hundreds and hundreds of miles leading up to the finish line. My plan – designed by Hal Higdon, a renowned writer and runner – calls for me to run a total of 462 miles before the start of the race and that doesn’t even include all of the other exercises you will do in between.
Aside from the numbers, running a marathon is an experience like no other. It’s a journey to finding out who you really are, how far you can go and achieving feats you never thought the human body could.
Photo by Amy Cilli
Team Eastern runner: Lauren Huffman of Branchville, Laura DeLea of Sparta, Jeremy Scheid of Sparta, Justin Schiedof Sparta, Brendan McDonough of Sparta, Billy Washerof Ogdensburg, Bill Bosmann of Sparta, George McDonough of Sparta and Paul Meyer.
SPARTA — With each step, Karl Fenske and his girlfriend Julia Scales raced past hundreds of cheering fans and inched closer to the finish line of the Boston Marathon. They were 25 yards away from completing the 26.2 mile race when the first of two pressure cooker bombs explode on Boylston Street on April 15, 2013.
When the explosion occured Fenske and Scales were running on the other side of the street.
Fenske knew what it was right away.
“I knew it was a bomb, I knew the thing went off and then I saw body parts and people screaming and smelled the cordit,” Fenske said. “So I knew it was not part of the celebration. “I spun (Scales) around so she wouldn’t see the stuff I was seeing. There was a metal barricade to our right and jumped over that and ran into an alcove, a building hallway and huddled with another runner.”
Getting back to their car and escaping the scene was an ordeal.
“It was just the law of the jungle,” Fenske recalled. “There were good parts and bad parts. Terror and irrational behavior and incredible acts of benevolence.”
When they stopped in a hotel someone bought them a meal, another person gave Fenske a shirt and Scales a blanket to wear.
There was also a runner asking how he was going to get his finisher’s medal.
“This is World War 3,” Fenske said. “This is like Armageddon is happening and you are wondering about a finisher’s medal?”
They made it home and survived.
When it was over, three spectators were killed and 264 injured — at least 14 people required amputations.
Ken Grisback crossing the finish line at the New Jersey Marathon on May 5.
LAFAYETTE — As if completing two Ironman Triathlons, multiple marathons, and a 50k wasn’t enough, Lafayette resident Ken Grisback will be tackling a new challenge — running 140 miles in six days all to benefit Multiple Sclerosis.
Grisback along with 15 other runners are trekking a total of 3,000 miles across the United States, from Los Angeles, Cali. to New York City, N.Y. over six months as part of MS Run the US. MS Run the US, Inc. is a non-profit organization committed to raising disease awareness and funds to further research in the fight to end multiple sclerosis.
The runners have been selected to individually run the equivalent of approximately a marathon (26.2 miles) every day for six consecutive days during their assigned segment. Grisback’s leg will take him from Clearfield, Pa. on Aug. 24 to Mahanoy City, Pa. on Aug. 29.
The entirety of the relay will span 145 days in an effort to raise $500,000 to help cure multiple sclerosis. Grisback is looking to raise a total of $10,000 — so far he has close to $7,000 but still needs more donations.
By Alexis Tarrazi – Straus News
Matthew Carlson, a native of Sparta, takes one last photo a mile shy of the finish line at Boston Marathon moments before he was stopped from completing the race due to two bomb explosions that killed three people and injured at least 176 on Monday, April 15 in Massachusetts.
Alexis Tarrazi 