ESPN sports reporter Will Reeve will be one of the stories of Sunday’s New York City Marathon, and not just because it’s his virgin 26-miler.
Reeve is running to raise money in memory of his late parents, Christopher Reeve of “Superman” fame and Dana, whose Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation helps those with spinal cord injuries and raises funds for medical research.
The New York Post reported that the 24-year-old “playfully admits that, for years, he would tell his family and friends at the Reeve Foundation that he would run a marathon ‘next year.'”
Reeve said: “Finally I realized, ‘What kind of example am I setting when many of the people in the spinal-injury world for whom I advocate would do anything just to be able to step up to the starting line?’”
He got advice from running coach Mark Zenobia.
“Mark asks you every question imaginable as it pertains to your physical fitness and mental preparedness to run a marathon,” says Reeve. “I talked with him and said I wanted to do it in an acceptable time [4 hours, 15 minutes], but I [also] just wanted to finish.
“My folks instilled great values in me. One of the things they taught me from an early age is that when you’re doing something, you’d better go all the way.”
His thanks to New York Post:
Huge thanks to @nypost for the writeup on my marathon efforts for @reevefoundation. Only 5 days away–can’t wait. https://t.co/Ze8sLaZIV1
— Will Reeve (@ReeveWill) November 1, 2016
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