WESTON, Conn. Westons Kurt Bolin will ahve achieved his primary goal even before he steps on the starting line at the Nov. 6 New York City Marathon.
Bolin, who will be running the race for the first time, has raised over $6,000 for Freds Team, which raises funds to support cancer research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. It also is the first time Bolin will run for charity. He is doing it in support of a co-worker whose 28-year-old son, Tucker Davis, died from a rare form of liver cancer in 2010. Bolins financial support will go directly to research Tuckers disease, fibrolameller cancer.
I believe in the cause, said Bolin, who has run six other marathons. Its nice to have a reason beyond the usual reasons to run. Readers can support Bolin at his fund-raising page.
Bolin, 52, began running marathons in 2005. He has made the 26.2-mile trek in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Vermont and Washington, D.C. It just seemed like a natural progression, he said. Before that, I was more of a seasonal runner when the weather was warm. Its a good stress reliever.
His best time is a 3:43:11 in Cleveland in 2006.
The one I enjoyed the most was Marine Corps, he said. It was well-organized and traveled through impressive parts of the capital. It was extraordinary to run in Washington by the national monuments and the architectural landmarks.
That race was also when he started thinking about running New York, he said.
The stories I heard made it sound like running New York made you feel like a human pinball, Bolin said. I was drawn to more medium-sized events. The Marine Corps was so well-organized I thought New York might also be enjoyable.
He expects to run in the 3:45-range again. The numbers on the watch, however, are a secondary concern. Ill enjoy looking at the neighborhoods, the fellow runners, the spectators, he said. Its a good diversion in and of itself. I enjoy that.
To view more profiles on runners in the New York City Marathon from Main Street Connect communites, click on the 2011 New York City Marathon tag below.
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