Post # 10 37 days 21 h 46 m 34 s

Looking back at my post regarding litter on country roads I now realize I’ve been unfair to have excluded city streets. I’m sure that per square foot there is far more trash littering my Brooklyn neighborhood than the combined total of country roads I traverse. It’s that the trash set against the canvas of rural splendor seems far more egregious and out of place.
But even the city with its issues of population and trash removal does not offer a decent excuse for careless litter. So city dwellers if you’re reading this take note. You may not have dropped the litter in front of your house but that’s no reason not to pick it up. Perching your discard on top of the overflowing pile spewing out of a trash can all of which is about to fall off into the street does not qualify as properly disposing of your garbage. Adding your litter to trash that is in an inappropriate place, dropping it out of your car, leaving it behind on the subway and just thoughtlessly disposing of trash you wouldn’t dream of discarding in the middle of your living room, in our collective living room, is not okay.
During a recent Prospect Park run I witnessed a man who while parking his car became annoyed by a large plastic soda bottle at the curb. Exiting the car he picked up the bottle and tossed it into the edge of the park. As I went by I gave him my best look of disgust. Immediately defensive he protested that he didn’t drop it in the street and was only moving it away from his car. I made the point that if he could pick it up why couldn’t he carry it to a trashcan rather than throw it into the park. How could he justify that as a better place for it. He replied by suggesting that I kiss a certain part of his body that I wouldn’t care to see even in my imagination no less put my lips to. I’m really not the confrontational type. But sometimes I just can’t stop myself. I offered to take him up on his suggestion and that he should oblige by dropping his draws. Needless to say this wasn’t going anywhere and having reached the limit of my involved interest I ran on. On my second loop around the park I looked for the bottle intending to pick it up. It was nowhere to be found.

A Few Thoughts About Abilis

I’m Dan Edelstein, a long time friend of Jeff’s and a fellow sound editor. My wife Pat and I have lived, with our 17 year old son Joe, in Greenwich, CT since we moved from beautiful Brooklyn in 1998. During our time here, Joe, who has significant physical and cognitive disabilities, has had the good fortune of being able to take advantage of the great people and programs provided by Abilis. When I was growing up, organizations like theirs didn’t exist, or if they did I was unaware of them. As difficult as it is to raise a child with profound disabilities, it would be almost unimaginably more so without organizations like Abilis.

Among other things, they’ve provided essential help throughout Joe’s years in the Greenwich Public Schools, most importantly giving school staff much needed support and advice dealing with his sometimes inappropriate behaviors. (Hey, what typical kid doesn’t get upset when he’s not doing exactly what he wants all the time?) Joe is non-verbal, so they understood that it was critical that he gain a “voice” so he could exert some control over his life. Due to their prompting, the school got him a computer which has become the centerpiece of his education. He uses it throughout the day to communicate and make choices, and his “behaviors” are much diminished. Joe’s use of his computer has provided the biggest improvement to the quality of his life to this point.

For Joe and all the special needs kids in the area, Abilis provides activities that they would otherwise never have the opportunity to participate in. They put on plays and dances. They take music classes and perform concerts. They go bowling. They go hunting. (Wait......hunting? No, that’s a joke.) They travel. In light of the fact that people with special needs got almost no support as little as 30 years ago, the formation and growth of support service organizations like Abilis is really one of the cultural miracles of our lifetime.

Right now, Joe is beginning to transition out of high school, into young adult programs, and programs that promote interaction with the community at large. Again, Abilis is providing critical consultations to the school staff, providing ideas and support in all these areas. They are a part of his “team” at school and in fact outnumbered actual school personnel at our last meeting. (But that’s another story - don’t get me started.)

Both for his own independence and anticipating a time when Pat and I are no longer able to care for him, as Joe approaches 21 we’ll be in the process of finding a new home for him, one where he’ll receive the support and care that he’ll need for the rest of his life. It’s an indication of the trust we have in Abilis that when the time comes, we’ll have no hesitation trusting that he’ll be in the best hands possible in one of the residences that they administer. Well, almost no hesitation - we are human after all.

Finally, I’d like to thank Jeff for this incredible gesture to run the Marathon on behalf of Abilis. I was kind of dumbfounded when he suggested the idea to me a couple months ago and now six weeks before the run, I’m still somewhat stunned. Thanks so much Jeff! That’s way beyond the call of duty. And speaking of duty, isn't about time you stopped reading, got off your butt and put in a few miles? Good man.

Post #9 45 days 16 h 31 m 10 s

Running in country environs is truly idyllic. What better way to immerse oneself in the singular accomplishment of conquering miles powered only by your own strength and will. The beautiful vistas, fresh air and surprise meetings with wild life offer a welcome reprise from charged city culture and an escape to an inner rhythm. Sadly litter is a persistent and rude intrusion in the landscape.
There is not a trail, street or small country road that is not marred by garbage. On woodland trails it is not unusual to happen upon garbage dumps of bottles, cans, bathroom fixture, stoves, tires and even entire automobiles. I will admit that some of these have offered interesting archeological digs to a time when the term recycling may not have existed and little thought was given to the effects of this detritus on the environment.
It’s the current, careless roadside trash that is truly disturbing. Running along the shoulder of the road offers an intimate view of this eyesore. I can itemize this flotsam and jetsam of our disposable consumer culture in a short list of very specific categories; Bud Light, Coors light, Pepsi, Sprite, the variety of McDonalds’ packaging and in North Carolina cigarette packs. I don’t want to jump to conclusions but I wonder if a demographic profile of litterers couldn’t be produced from this list.
I think come November 8 my next project may be RateMyRoad.com. I’ll encourage readers to go out, survey their streets, compile a list of the trash they find, take pictures and encourage their neighbors to see what their streets look like. Maybe we can organize a national clean up your street day and have Anheuser-Busch, Coors, PepsiCo, McDonalds and big tobacco sponsor it.
I think I’m going to be very busy.

Post #8 46 days 15 h 42 m 45 s

I’ve been suggesting goals to base your pledges on. Then last week I received an email from the marathon organization with a video message from actor, activist and runner Edward Norton. It seems he has started an organization to activate people to work for charities and was linking this to the marathon’s efforts for charitable sponsorship. And his suggestions, sponsor a runner, pledge per mile, something for finishing, etc. Sound familiar? Hello! Okay, so maybe it’s an obvious idea. So if you want another perspective from someone else visit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAzPUzZaqqA and see what Ed has to say. He’s entertaining. Then check back in with www.abilismarathon.blogspot.com and consider a pledge through http://www.abilis.us/index.htm . As always, thank you.

Post #7 48 days 10 h 39 m 22 s

When I started this endeavor I suggested you might pledge by the miles I complete or a bonus for beating my previous marathon run. Should you choose to go this route I feel it’s only fare that I supply you with statistics on which to base your pledge.
The first marathon I ran was in 1994. I had just turned forty-two. As I described earlier the only prior race experience I had run was a five-kilometer “fun run.” I wasn’t immersed in a culture of running. I pretty much just went out and did it on my own terms. I don’t remember my routine of sixteen years ago but certain details would suggest that it was lacking in appropriate intensity. I had been running short distances, fast. Just prior to the marathon I did the Wall Street 5k Run in which I was only seconds short of a 7-minute pace. I feel certain it was the fastest I’ve ever run. Despite a lack of marathon research some essential information penetrated my stubborn independence. One of those important details was the essential requirement to do longer runs. Had I not I would most likely of gone out marathon day at much too fast a pace and spent myself early, perhaps not even finishing. I completed the marathon in 4 hours, 21 minutes. Except for the finishing times of friends, whom I consider to be more serious if not simply better athletes, I had nothing to compare it to. This isn’t the type of race the majority of us would ever think of in terms of winning. To put it in perspective, about the time that I was reaching the half way point the front runners were finishing. If I were to go out and run only one mile as fast I could, it would not even be close to what the front runners average over the course of 26 miles. This is the type of race that’s about a personal best. I knew I had pushed and run the entire distance and felt good about my time.
It was seven years of getting back into the mood and three years of attempting to receive a number before I ran again. It was 2004 and I was now fifty-two. I was still doing things my own way but this time a bit more seriously. I know I trained harder and longer and the results showed, 4 hours and 34 seconds. That was 34 seconds shy of my 4 hour goal. But I was also ten years older and 21 minutes faster. A finishing place of 8,603 out of a filed of 36,513. I felt pretty good about that until about three days later when I remember thinking I could have done better. I had to remind myself that I had been getting up at 6am to run before work, running on weekends and generally investing most of my free time. How much more committed could I possibly have been. That’s how it gets you hooked and makes you want to do one more. That’s why I’m here again now.
Come Sunday November 7, 2010 I will be three days past my 58th birthday and my goal – under 4 hours.

Post #6 57 days 21 h 20 m 37 s

I have to admit here publicly that I fell off the wagon last week. It was the first full week of classes. I returned to Miami with determination to dive into school and not falter from my running routine. Classes were going quite well but I can’t say the same for new computers in my labs. Free time melted away and every promise to myself that I would run that evening or next morning went unrealized. I managed only two or three short runs. I had also for a few weeks planned, needed to do, an eighteen-mile run. I also had the sobering realization that M-day is only two months away. During this time I faced my ultimate temptation. The grocery store had a buy-one-get-one-free Starbucks ice cream sale. I succumbed.
The following weekend found us in North Carolina and I was determined to make amends. Friday I went out for eight miles, repeated this on Saturday and Sunday finally did eighteen or 18.7 to be precise. All systems were go, all the parts felt good and I’m happy to report that I’m back on top of that wagon.

Post #5 58 days 15 h 31 m 36 s

Many of you may know that I am a sound editor for motion pictures, that I live in Fort Greene Brooklyn and that for the past five years my day job has been as a professor of film at the University of Miami. Along with racking up frequent flier miles this provides me with four running environs: Brooklyn, which we still call home, North Carolina where we will go monthly to visit Robbin’s 90 year old mom, Pennsylvania were Robbin works and Miami or Coral Gables, to be precise, were I teach. All are very different running environments. Of the four, Miami (sorry ’Canes) is my least favorite. Running in Miami can be summed up in three words: hot, muggy, flat. Hills are a bump in the road or a pass over a roadway. Thankfully, I’m not there in the summer. But it’s mid-August and school has begun and exterior exertion is best described as a hybrid of running and swimming.
If I go out in the morning my run is the perimeter of a small open golf course in the center of town. Evenings I enjoy the longer meandering golf course behind the Biltmore Hotel. I wasn’t sure of the golf course’s policy on runners and, except for one late afternoon, would always go out in the evening when it was too dark for anyone to still be playing. On that one afternoon, the golf cart patrol came swooping down within minutes of my run and escorted me off. It seems in the past some poor slob running the course had been hit in the face with a golf ball.
Contemplating his encounter with a golf ball consumed my thoughts for a while. A golf ball is perhaps one and a quarter cubic inches. What are the chances that that tiny sphere should occupy the exact one and a quarter cubic inches of space at the exact moment in time that the unfortunate runner’s face entered it. I’d never thought that fate, or luck good or bad, had any validity as a life philosophy. I’m also not one to go out of my way to test these unknowns. I’ll run the course after dusk and enjoy it.

Post #4 61 days 09 h 03 m 51 s

Friends will ask about my running routine, my marathon strategy. I think of myself as somewhat disciplined. I keep up the weekly miles, going out because I know I should even if I may not feel like it. But a game plan, especially one based on research has never been my style. One can’t help but absorb some information, tidbits of sage advice expounded by other runners and millions of unavoidable column inches. But for the most part I tend to go my own way. My first marathon experience may illustrate this well.
Due to the influence of my wife and friends, running was becoming a casual part of my regular exercise regime. It was about this time that my kids’ school sponsored what they called a “fun run” in Prospect Park. Once around the inner loop a distance of 5 kilometers. I had never run anything remotely like a race. It was the last Saturday in October. The four of us headed to the park. We were glad to have the opportunity to exercise with our kids—and as it turned out it became a really fun and important event for our family.
We all ran and finished although as I remember my wife carried Luke halfway around the course. Out of perhaps seventy participants I came in twelfth. To put this in perspective it’s not a serious race but a school social event. The runners are all associated with the school and cover the gamut of first to twelfth graders, parents and teachers. Luke was eight and Hannah twelve. There were a few serious runners. I remember pushing near the end of the race to catch a teenager ahead of me when he suddenly turned off the road and stopped to throw up. At the time I was terribly impressed at this young man pushing himself that hard. But with the perspective of time and experiencing my own kids’ passage through the teenage years I now question how much was courage or perhaps the results of Saturday night activities.
For me the real result of the run was that it turned me on to the personal challenge of competitive running. It was great fun and I immediately began thinking of something more. It just so happened that the marathon was the next weekend. Of course! That was the something more at least in my mind. From a 5K, three and one tenth mile to the next step in the evolution: a marathon, 26 and two tenth miles. To me it made perfect sense.
I didn’t say anything to anyone about my idea especially my wife who would have been all over me to get out and train. I slowly upped my miles and didn’t let on until I reached a point where I felt I could take this idea beyond the concept stage. I also did not run to the bookstore and pile up on running books of which there are many that cover the spectrum of running philosophies. I just went out and did what felt right for me.
My no research rubric had almost disastrous results in my efforts to acquire a number for the New York City marathon. Our running friends had participated many times and I remembered they would go at a prescribed date to Central Park at four in the morning and wait in line to get a number. Little did I realize the changes the marathon had undergone. In 1970, the first year there were 127 runners. In 2009 there were 43,660. The increased field of entrants along with a thing called the internet had exploded and numbers were now given out by an online lottery whose date had already past. I kept running assuming that I would now have an extra and unexpected year to prepare.
One weekend at my son’s baseball league game I entered into conversation with another dad who was an engineer for the city and a long time runner. One thing led to another and I was surprised to learn that he had participated in mapping the course for the New York City marathon. Originally run as loops in Central Park, it now charted a course that touched each of the city’s five boroughs. Fred Lebow co-founder of the marathon and long time New York Road Runner’s president had recently been diagnosed with brain cancer and my friend was going to pay him a visit. He assured me that he would enquire into obtaining a number on my behalf. The following week at the baseball diamond he informed me I would be receiving my number in the mail. It was the only time I can say that I have ever had connections.
On this my third marathon I’m much more together. But still have yet to research running advice.

Your Pledge Questions Answered

Great post, Jeffrey! That last run was a fantastic story that, if I were you, I would tell at cocktail parties for years to come! :)

I am happy to report that Abilis has begun to receive donations and since a lot of people have been asking me how to make a pledge, I've decided to post and make it clearer. Anyone who wants to support Jeffrey's endeavor (and help Abilis in the process!) can do so in a number of ways:

1) Make it fun! Email me (at runk@abilis.us) that you are pledging $5 per mile Jeffrey runs or $50 for halfway and another $50 for finishing. Or, make up your own pledge and I will keep track of pledges through marathon day.

2) Just send a check! You can send a check payable to Abilis with NYC Marathon in the memo to:
Kristen Runk
Abilis
50 Glenville Street
Greenwich, CT 06831

3) Donate online. You can also make your donation securely through our website at www.abilis.us/giving.htm. Under "Optional - Gift Reference", please choose "NYC Marathon" so we know how to tag your gift.

4) Keep reading! It is of vital importance to us that people continue to learn about what Abilis does and who we are helping so please stay tuned to this blog.

And please feel free to contact me, Kristen Runk, at any time. (203) 531-1880 x110 or runk@abilis.us.