Here is the story. www.foxnews.com/.../
Here's another from the local NJ paper: www.nj.com/.../in_all_things_athletic_there_w.html
I met him once - it was at an inaugural 5k a local group was putting together and he was the honorary starter. (This would have been sometime around 2000-2002.) The turnout for the race was not great - I think there were maybe 15 runners, though there were another 20 or so people on hand helping run things - but from the inspirational speech he gave us you would have thought it was a much grander event, and he congratulated each finisher.
(The other thing I remember about that race was that they had stationed people around the course with boom boxes about every mile. I am not a runner, but every time I was about to stop and walk I'd come in range of one of the boom boxes that were playing songs like "Eye of the Tiger" and the theme from "Rocky" and get a surge of energy. IIRC, the theme from Chariots of Fire was on loop at the finish line. There was also a full-on DJ setup at the after party.)
He really was a great guy who did a lot for Plainfield.
Here is the story. www.foxnews.com/.../
Here's another from the local NJ paper: www.nj.com/.../in_all_things_athletic_there_w.html
I met him once - it was at an inaugural 5k a local group was putting together and he was the honorary starter. (This would have been sometime around 2000-2002.) The turnout for the race was not great - I think there were maybe 15 runners, though there were another 20 or so people on hand helping run things - but from the inspirational speech he gave us you would have thought it was a much grander event, and he congratulated each finisher.
(The other thing I remember about that race was that they had stationed people around the course with boom boxes about every mile. I am not a runner, but every time I was about to stop and walk I'd come in range of one of the boom boxes that were playing songs like "Eye of the Tiger" and the theme from "Rocky" and get a surge of energy. IIRC, the theme from Chariots of Fire was on loop at the finish line. There was also a full-on DJ setup at the after party.)
He really was a great guy who did a lot for Plainfield.
