CROSSING THE FINISH LINE
Bishop Luers students tend to set onerous goals, and through perseverance and determination, are able to not only meet their own expectations but exceed others as well. On November 1, 2015, Senior Ben Forte ran the New York City Marathon.
Ben’s inspiration for running the marathon was his mother. When Mrs. Forte was in her twenties, she began training to run a marathon, but became pregnant with Ben’s older brother, Nick and was unable to participate in the run. Ben, Nick and Mrs. Forte decided as a family, to run in the New York City Marathon for her fiftieth birthday.
Ben explained that they had been preparing for a year, with three runs a week. Ben, Nick and Mrs. Forte started running nine miles at a time and worked their way up to eighteen miles. Ben commented, “Training was really hard at first, but soon enough, instead of people passing us, we began to pass them.”
Unfortunately a week before the marathon, Nick got tendonitis and was unable to run with his family. Once Ben and his family arrived in New York City, they walked around, examined the trail, and prepared for the strenuous run to come.
It took Ben and Mrs. Forte 5 hours, 40 minutes and 37 seconds to complete the 26-mile run. Ben and his mother ran the entire marathon, only taking a few water and stretching breaks. The run ended in Central Park and Ben commented, “Once we saw the finish line, I wanted to cry, the pain went away, and I was so relieved.”
They finished the marathon while the sun was setting, and Ben stated that he had the best sleep in his whole life that night.
Ben wants to continue to run, saying, “I feel great after running and it helps me stay in shape.”
When asked if he plans to run more marathons, he replied, “Only if I become crazy enough to want to again.”
Ben’s family has agreed to run half marathons every year until they are unable to. Ben Forte shows other individuals that through self-discipline and motivation, any goal is feasible.
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