Give A Gift Are Average Runners Getting Faster? It Depends. In previous years he’d used excuses like, “It will get in the way of school,” or “It will interfere with my other training,” or “I am not a good runner, and I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
Now a graduate from Middlebury College, the 24-year-old is a board member of the charitable organization started by his late father, actor Christopher Reeve of Superman fame, and mother, actress Dana Reeve. The Advertisement - Continue Reading Below provides research grants and aid for severe spinal cord injuries, a cause championed by the Reeves after Christopher became a quadriplegic from a horse riding accident in 1995. The foundation has fielded a charity team in the NYC Marathon since 2005.
“I always promised my friends and family that I would run the marathon someday, but that someday kept getting pushed back,” Will Reeve told Runner’s World three days before the race. “Finally, I said, ‘No more, I am just going to do this.’”
In May, he sent off an application to run the race as a member of the foundation’s team. Then he left his SoHo apartment and logged four miles on the west side of Manhattan. It was the farthest he’d ever run.
“This is brand new for me, I am not a runner,” Reeve said. “Truth be told, I had always despised running.”
He trains mostly in the weight room and grew up playing hockey. One of the last things his father did was attend one of the then 13-year-old’s hockey games shortly before the actor died from a heart attack in 2004 at 52 years old. His mother, Dana, passed away from cancer two years later.
Since then, Reeve has become a contributor on ESPN’s SportsCenter and raises money for his parents’ foundation. On Sunday, he will join 49 others on the course, who have raised more than $300,000 for the organization. Reeve expects to reach his goal of fundraising at least $35,000 before the start.
“When I signed up to run I think some people thought, ‘it’s about time,’’ Reeve said. “Everyone was immediately super supportive and jumped on the bandwagon.” He said he’s collected more than 200 individual donations. (You can find his charity page here.)
With help from the foundation’s running coach, Mark Zenobia, Reeve developed a six-month plan to ensure he would be able to finish his first 26.2. He worked his way up to a 20-mile long run, and said he feels ready for the debut at the distance.
“My attitude about running has certainly changed, though I don’t know if I will call myself a runner,” Reeve said. “I will be someone who runs. Few months ago I could never have fathomed enjoying the running experience, but I have come to appreciate running and enjoy it.”
As for his future marathoning plans, Reeve said, “Ask me on Monday.”
Before then, on Sunday afternoon, he said once he crosses the finish line you can look for him, “sprinting to the bar.”
Kit has been a health, fitness, and running journalist for the past five years. His work has taken him across the country, from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to cover the 2016 Olympic Trials to the top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine to cover Scott Jurek’s Stravas 2024 Yearly Report Is Here in 2015.
