Jerry would never have run all those marathons if not for two former coworkers who put the bug in his ear to start running. They constantly told him he could not stand still and was walking too fast and they thought he should try channeling some of this excess energy into running. Despite the fact that he had never run, he decided to give it a try. Shortly after running a few blocks through the village of Pulaski, he signed up for his first race, the ‘Gallinger Home Run 5K’ in Marcellus in June 1982. His two coworkers were at his side, holding his hand for encouragement, until the gun went off. He finished in a very good time of 21:36.

Over the next few months Jerry continued running and increasing the length of his runs. In September, he participated in the ‘Trolley Line 20', a race from downtown Syracuse to Skaneateles. Although the actual distance was sometimes questionable, it was a challenging course with many hills, approximately 20 miles long. He states, "Some runners might remember this race. It would be a marathon if the course were flattened!"

After little more than a year of running, Jerry was ready for his first marathon. He chose the 1983 Marine Corps Marathon because everyone said that was the easy one! He trained for it by running the ‘Trolley Line’ course. He finished in 3:46, one of many he completed in under four hours. One month later he was at it again, running in the Nittany Valley PA Marathon, where he finished in 3:48. After that, he began doing more and more marathons each year until he eventually reached the 100 marathon mark in September 2002 in Berlin, Germany.

A world-traveler, Jerry often combines his love of traveling and his passion for running. Happy to share travel advice with other area runners, he has completed marathons and half-marathons (some more than once) in Helsinki, Finland, Reykjavik, Iceland, London, Madrid, Rotterdam, Berlin, Bermuda, Caracas, Venezuela, Coamo, P.R., Glasgow, Scotland, Amsterdam, as well as Ottawa, Montreal, Vancouver, St. John, New Brunswick, and Barrington, Nova Scotia. Fluent in both Spanish and French, he has befriended runners that he otherwise would not have, by being able to carry on a conversation in their native language.

Having run so many marathons and half-marathons, Jerry has countless stories to tell. Some weather-related, such as the sleet and freezing rain at the Casco Bay Marathon in Portland, Maine, a gale storm in Bermuda which blew the runners sideways and 90 degree high temperature with 99 percent humidity in Caracas, Venezuela. There are also the once-in-a-lifetime memories such as setting his p.r. of 3:25 at the 1986 Montreal Marathon. He was also in Berlin in 1989 for a half-marathon, before the ‘fall of the wall’ and then he returned in 1990 to run a full marathon and witness the reunification of Germany.

Besides the longer distances of the half-marathon and marathon, Jerry also enjoys participating in other races. His all-time favorite race is the Boilermaker. "Everyone knows why- the crowds and the beer!" When he has time, he also runs in both 5K and 10K races, such as the Swamp Rat Runs and the Halloween Run at Beaver Lake. Recently he ran in both the Paige’s Butterfly Run and the Aids Walk/Run.

Weekly training runs are a thing of the past for Jerry. Having fought a torn meniscus injury for quite some time, he finds what works best for him is to not do any running outside of races. He replaces weekly running workouts with daily fast walks on the treadmill at a13-minute per mile pace and cycling at the gym. It is the little things he does on a regular basis that contribute to his overall good physical condition, such as taking the stairs vs. the elevator, avoiding the airport beltways and parking his car at the far end of the parking lot. Why, with all the electronic gadgets available to make our lives easier, Jerry does not even own a cordless phone or a remote control for the television. He actually gets up to answer the phone or to change stations. Imagine that!

Born and raised in Liverpool, Jerry eventually moved to Altmar where he was an elementary school teacher for 33 years, retiring in June 2002. He enjoys biking and has done many bike tours, including a 700K tour in Quebec and is set to do a 13-day tour in Nova Scotia. He also likes to swim, kayak, canoe, white-water raft and ski. He spends time camping and hiking and has taken on a new challenge. He wants to become a ‘46', a climber of New York State’s high peaks. He has climbed Mt. Marcy (elevation 5,344 ft.) three times already. Just 45 more climbs to go, and there is no doubt that he can do it!

July, 2003