by Jeffrey Stanley

Middle School math teacher and eighth grade advisor Peter Prince (top left photo) has been a runner since his sophomore year of high school. In college he ran track for all four years. “It was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” he recalled. “It taught me a lot about myself and what I can accomplish. I also met a lot of my best friends while I was on the track team.”

Last month, inspired by a friend who had been diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease), Peter hosted a charity fun run for ALS in Prospect Park. “It was the first time I’d done anything like it,” he said. “I don’t have too much to donate myself so I thought this would be a good way for me to make more money for the foundation than I could generate myself.”

Peter is one of several BFS faculty who will be running the 26.2-mile New York City marathon this Sunday and most of them are first-timers.

Middle and Upper School counselor Jeffrey Cox (top right) has a background not as a track star but a performer. “Before I became a therapist I was a professional dancer for fifteen years,” he said. He started running three years ago as a way to “keep moving, always doing something with my mind, body and spirit.” He trains in Central Park, where he calls the larger hills on the outer loop the Equalizer because “Everyone works hard when they get to these hills.”

Head varsity baseball coach, P.E. teacher and senior internship coordinator Johnny Cusato (lower left) has been a long distance runner for two years but this will be his first marathon. He trains in Central Park and Riverside Park, and says he does it because it’s fun. “It feels good. I look forward to running after school or early in the morning. Plus it gets you in pretty good shape.” The only drawback, aside from some initial aches and pains, is that training for a marathon six days a week eats up a lot of time.

Fellow rookie Tony Tanael (lower right), Upper School technology integrator and Middle School study skills, computer literacy and journalism teacher, does his best to trim down that time, taking the whole experience in stride. He admits that he trains “mostly on the treadmill because it’s convenient.” When he trains outside he usually sticks as close to home as possible, running along the FDR Drive. “I’d probably prefer to run in Central Park, but it’s so far away. It’s like six blocks,” he complained. “These are long blocks, mind you.”

His seeming flippancy just might be a ruse. Tony ran cross country in high school, and his father ran four marathons in his 50s as a way of overcoming a heart attack. “That was pretty inspirational for me.” Tony has only been training for five months, and recounted the day two weeks ago when he feels he truly became a marathoner. “I ran out towards the Triborough Bridge and felt energetic and adventurous enough to make my way around Randall’s Island. I found I had run further than I’d ever gone before without needing to rest. It was liberating to be able to wander about just for fun and without worrying that I wouldn’t have the energy to make it home.” Since that paradigm shift in his mentality he confesses that he now sometimes runs those six inconvenient blocks to train in Central Park.

This year’s New York City marathon, now in its thirty-sixth year, will feature some 37,000 runners from around the world and will be held this Sunday, November 5th. The race begins on Staten Island and moves through all five boroughs, ending in Central Park. For complete details visit www.nycmarathon.org.