My good friend Mark G. is a larger-than-life person. He is upbeat with a positive attitude toward people and life, is caring and compassionate, and is always concerned for others. His incredible memory guarantees he will never forget a face or name. This attribute serves him well as he has been announcing local races for years in the New Haven area, and has been given the title of the “Voice of Summer”. Of note, he has been the voice of the Fairfield Half Marathon and the National Championship New Haven Labor Day 20k Road Race for 28 years. Runners in these races say his positive enthusiasm and energy gets them through the race.
In my personal life, Mark has provided me with so much advice and guidance about the sport of triathlon and was also the person that basically retaught me how to swim - knocking minutes off my times.
Mark is the consummate athlete and the fittest person I know. He is always up for a challenge but now he’s facing the largest challenge of his life.
On July 23, I will be participating in the Lake Placid Ironman. The event is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. This effort is nothing compared to the challenge Mark has ahead of him. My intent is to honor Mark and support him in his race to recovery while raising money for the National Pancreas Foundation (NPF) - the only foundation in the nation that provides research funds and resources for all forms of pancreas disease (pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, and pediatric pancreatitis). The NPF was founded in 1997 and works with over 170+ medical facilities in the nation, including Memorial Sloan Kettering and Dana Farber, and has given over 5 million to pancreas disease research.
I hope you will support me as I tackle the Ironman, but more importantly raise much-needed funds for patients, caregivers, and researchers to continue finding a cure for pancreatic cancer.
To read about Mark and his influence in the community please go here (copy/paste) https://news.hamlethub.com/fairfield/life/51554-the-voice-of-the-connecticut-road-races-starts-his-most-important-race
