Elizabeth Heiselt - FOR THE DAILY HERALD | Posted: Sunday, November 4, 2007 11:00 pm
Blake and Sandy Modersitzki have been running marathons since 2001 and have helped dozens of their neighbors in Highland train for the 26.2 mile run in St. George over the past six years. They took a break from southern Utah Sunday when they ran the ING New York City Marathon. This one is just for fun, the couple said.
More than 38,000 runners raced through New York City's five boroughs Sunday to cross the finish line in Central Park.
For the Modersitzkis, the path to the marathon started with a doctor's visit. That trip in 2001 motivated Blake, 41, to train for the St. George Marathon that year.
"My blood pressure was out of control and my cholesterol was high, too," he said. He was told it was a matter of when, not if, he would develop a heart condition. Heart disease runs in his family.
His wife Sandy, 40, trained with him but didn't sign up for the race. She watched from the sidelines, then jumped into the run at mile 16 because she was so excited to see Blake still running.
"Keep in mind I thought he was going to die. I was so happy to see him still on his feet I just about started crying," Sandy said.
They ran the last 10 miles together, and by the time they crossed the finish line Sandy wanted to run a full marathon, too.
After the first year of running, Blake's blood pressure and cholesterol were back to normal levels. "I probably would have checked the box, 'run a marathon' and been done with it," he said.
Instead, the couple continued running and invited neighbors, friends and any runners they found to join them. They started a running group, the Dry Creek Peloton, and organized a running schedule to get the group ready to run in St. George.
After five years, there are 50 people on their e-mail list, and they have had as many as 38 come out for a long run on a Saturday morning. More than 20 in the group have finished a marathon. Ten qualified for Boston this year.
"When we go out and we have a big group, we take up half the road," Sandy said.
It is a huge commitment for the runners and their families, many of whom volunteer to drive the "Sag Wagon," a moving aid station filled with drinks, fruit and pretzels on Saturday mornings for runs as long as 22 miles.
The Modersitzkis' three daughters, McCall, 15, Allyson, 13, and Claire, 10, have sacrificed staying up late on Friday nights in support of their parents' running.
"Sometimes we feel so guilty having to go to bed early," Sandy said, "but it means a lot to them, too. They wouldn't miss watching us run in St. George for anything."
Seeing her daughters at the finish line is part of her motivation to finish, Sandy said. She wants to be a good example of staying fit at any age; to teach them that it isn't about winning, it's about finishing; and to show that you can do anything you put your mind to.
Blake said it's about not letting the race beat you. That's what the running group is all about: giving the mental support to cross the finish line.
"We've trained this whole way together, we want to finish it together," he said. "Emotionally we are together, even if we're not physically together."
They finished the St. George Marathon just four weeks ago, but the couple decided to run in New York City because Blake and another running partner, Derek Butters, had served LDS missions there.
"We're not at our peak," Blake said. They went to have a good time.
"I'm bringing my camera and my cell phone," Sandy said, "I'm going to stop to take pictures."
The couple said that with bands playing along the course and each of the five boroughs trying to be the loudest in welcoming runners to its part of New York, they just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere, the course and the city.
Having run a marathon last month and having trained between races made this marathon one of the most difficult. But, Blake said, "It was one of the great experiences of my life."
"When you come across that bridge onto First Avenue and people are standing seven deep just cheering you on, there's nothing like it," he said. "Sandy and I were just talking, 'We've got to find a way to get our whole group back here together,'" Blake said. "I thought this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I'd love to come back and do this one again."