Picked Last In Gym - The Misadventures of Chuck: February 2021

Running a marathon as most of you know is a challenge unto itself. It takes a lot of time and determination. It also takes a an enormous amount of dedication. But, my training is not the only thing that I'm dedicated to, and neither is the Mario Lemieux Foundation. I'm also dedicated to you. I'm dedicated to all of you.

It's no surprise that for an 8th year now, I've chosen to run for the Mario Lemieux Foundation once again. Even though deep down I had a feeling that this year's race would end up being virtual as it had been last year, I still wanted to find a way to do some good as well as to just keep running. But as I mentioned before, I'm not just dedicated to running and running for MLF. Again I'm dedicated to you.

I've gotten so much support from all of you over the years that I felt this year I needed to do just a teeny bit more with my marathon plan. That is when I came up with the idea to donate and dedicate. For the past 7 years, so many of you have been generous and kind enough to make a donation to the Mario Lemieux Foundation and have done so on several occasions. And for the past 7 years, every time I've run the Pittsburgh Marathon I ran under a mantra of 26 miles and 26 dedications. But now I thought, how about we let YOU dedicate a mile, as well? Not a bad idea actually. In fact, I think it's a great idea. It's simply just another way for me to give back to you for all that you have done for me over the years through all of my crazy adventures. Now don't get me wrong, I'm still going to have my own set of dedications, and more on that in a moment.

So how is this going to work? What's up with the subject line of this particular post? Well, it has a couple of meanings as well as a fun play on words with "Oh When The Saints Go Marching In." (As if you couldn't figure out that part.)

First: I will be running my virtual marathon, the one that I'm calling YOUR marathon, hopefully on what would have been race weekend. May 2nd was the official date. I plan on running the official marathon course as safely as I possibly can There may be one or two spots that involve detours so that that can happen. For those that have donated to my Mario Lemieux fundraising campaign, I'll have your dedications with me along the way. There is also a chance for Bigfoot to tackle this challenge, but that really depends on the weather (temps, etc.) One way or another, I'll make it fun for all of you. So, for those of you that have donated or will donate save that date! And also, please think about your dedication. This will be my 8th official marathon, but more importantly, it will be yours. (And you don't even have to run!)

Second: Marching into Madness. March Madness. I've got a lot of miles of training ahead of me, and not just for the Pittsburgh Marathon. (Those are stories for another time.) So how in the heck am I marching into madness? During the month of March, Bigfoot is going on tour! Starting on March 6th, Bigfoot will be tackling 26.2 miles all over Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas. Not all at once, but still over the course of some Saturday mornings. Bigfoot will run a few miles here, hop in his chariot and head elsewhere to run another few miles. He'll do this and finish up when he's reached 26.2 miles for the day (I've been toying with this idea for a while now.) What are Bigfoot's tour dates? March 6th (as noted above,) March 20th, and March 27th. (Not the 13th because that's Zosia's birthday weekend.) 3 Marathons in the month of March? What madness!!! Although not in the traditional sense, it's still going down. I'll be covering a lot of areas in those days, and for those that have donated so far, I'm hoping to be able to cover your area, too. We're talking Neville Island, Cory, Moon, Aliquippa, Hopewell, Bethel Park, Downtown Pittsburgh, Crafton, Oakland, Robinson Township, McKees Rock, Kennedy, Squirrel Hill, Bloomfield, Sharpsburg, Fox Chapel, Springdale, etc. etc. The possibilities are endless! Again...MADNESS I TELL YOU!!!

Will I make it around all of these areas? Quite possibly. You'll just have to keep an eye open for the #sasquatchwatch.

And with that being said, here are my dedications for those 26.2 miles. And remember, YOURS will be my official race. My miles are mainly for fun and your enjoyment.

Mile 1: Mrs. Donna Koffler, Lou Majetic, Cy Clark. Keeping the tradition alive with mile number 1.

Mile 2: Nina Napoleone. We all know you have got so much on your plate right now Nina. But none of us could ever truly understand what you may be going through. Just know that we are in your corner. This mile is for you.

Mile 3: Lara Huffman. We're here for you when you need us. We miss having you out on the trails and pavement with us!

Mile 4: Ed Sturm. Ed was one of the Scout Masters of our Boy Scout Troop growing up. The man was an excellent wood worker, and screw coffee: he had to have his Pepsi. No matter where we camped, he had a case of Pepsi in tow. I have not seen he or his son Tim since I graduated and moved on from Scouting 30 years ago, but I have very fond memories of the things he taught us. RIP Mr. Sturm. You were a fine teacher.

Mile 5: W Wayne Rumburg. Mr. Rumburg was the father of two other members of our Boy Scout Troop, Ben and Jason. Later in life, I met his step son Darren via my dear friends Bonnie and Lisa. It was wild finding this out, and seeing the world being smaller yet again. Mr. Rumburg, from what I remember way back then, was a very cool and funny dude. RIP.

Mile 6: Joe Mucci. Joe was the grandfather of one of our first wish kids at Wheels Wings and Wishes (Back when we first names it Wheels, Wings, and Brews.) He had passed away recently. RIP Joe.

I'm calling these next few miles, The Moon Miles.

Mile 7: Mr. George E Tipker, Jr. He was my 7th grade Social Studies teacher and passed away last October. He was an amazing teacher and everyone will always remember him. He's the one reason all of us have for being able to spell the word Civilization. (It's sung. I'll sing it for you all some time.)

Mile 8: Mr. Steven George. He too passed away last year, back in May. He was my 10th grade Geometry teacher. I love math, but I did not care for geometry at all. It was the one math class I always had the most difficulty with. However, he always went out of his way to help me, and everyone else. He's another teacher that left a lasting impression. RIP Mr. George

Mile 9: Mr. Theron (Ted) Aiken. Mr. Aiken passed away back in 2013. I was no where near running any of these big races, and didn't even set out for a half marathon until 2014. I had Mr. Aiken for both my Senior and Junior Years of high school. "You must be Jodi's brother. Are you as much trouble as she was?" He said that in jest, of course, at least I think he did. He was one of those teachers that you could tell really cared about his students. Thank you Mr. Aiken.

Mile 10: Ms. Marilyn DeMasso. She was my high school Spanish teach all three years I took Spanish. Sadly, I don't really remember squat, but I loved her class and I loved having her for a teacher. I know there are a lot of others out there that may disagree with me, but she really was an incredible teacher. There was a time where we were to do a speech in Spanish, and I forgot mine at home. I had her first period and I was waiting for my oldest sister to bring it to the office. She cut me some slack to meet my sister, who ended up not coming with it. So, I had to do the speech or fail the project. She did offer me to do it another time, but my memorization skills were pretty darn good. I actually had memorized the whole thing. Back then, I had to take off my glasses to do a speech in front of the class. It was easier to do, when I couldn't see anyone. (I hated talking in front of the class.) Anyhow, I did this speech, even wrote in a joke which she laughed at, and passed. I will always remember that day, and I've always remembered her. Thank you for being one of the best.

Mile 11: Mr. Bernie Vogler. Mr. Vogler, it's really cool seeing as how after all these years you've still maintained such a connection with all of us, your former students, on Facebook. This is what I feel Facebook was really meant for, not some of the crap that is has become. It's about connection, and positive connections at that. We loved having you for the computer club, and we loved having you teach us about programming C+ on those weird Apple Computers back in the day (I forget what model they were.) And, if you're like me, I know you remember Batman. (Or at least the Bat Signal program.) Thanks for always humoring me, and just plain being awesome.

Mile 12: Mr. John Franchik (sp? on the last name. I can't remember.) I had Mr. Franchik for Psyc. and Social Studies. I joked with him one time too many and caught him on a bad day. He scared the crap out of me that day, but both of us of course apologized. It wasn't truly anything bad, but it was still one of those lessons in life you learn from a teacher. There was another incident that happened in Gym Class, which was a period before, and I ended up being late. I was still fuming and upset, and he kept me after to check up on me and make sure I was ok. I was. Just needed to cool off and remember it was Senior year, and I was almost done with school. But again, he cared and it showed. Every period of class I had with him was fun, and I always paid attention. So again, thank you.

Mile 13: Alyson Hayes Swearingen. Moon Class of '93. I did not know her personally, but have heard of her recent passing. May she RIP.

I may have more Moon Miles in the future, but for now that conclude the Moon Miles.

Mile 14: Zosia. She'll be 14 on the 14th. So mile 14 is for her. She's the best damn step daughter a guy could hope for. Love you kiddo!

Mile 15: John Smith, the father of my friend and actress Amy Lynn Elliott. He, too has recently passed. RIP Mr. Smith.

Mile 16: George William Dougherty. George Sr had passed away last October. He was the father of George Jr, a man I had run and trained with on many an occasion the past few years. RIP. Mr. Dougherty

Mile 17: George "Bink" Brinser. George is our friend Dave Johnson's brother. I'll be saying an extra pray for he and his family today.

Mile 18: Rick Donahue. Rick is one of our friends here in Crafton. Get well soon dude!

Mile 19: Gianna (GiGi) Hamstead. If there was a bright spot in 2020, this little treasure is it! Welcome to the world little GiGi!

Mile 20: Jennifer Gorrell. Keep getting better Jennifer. We know you've got some recovery ahead of you, but just keep doing what you need to do. Rest up as well.

Mile 21: Mary DeLuca. Mary was the mother of a local running legend. The GOAT if you will, Tony DeLuca. Tony is one of the most down to earth people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and running with. I have a very good feeling it has a lot to do with his mother and the things she had taught him in his life. She had recently passed and I wanted to pay tribute to her as well. RIP Mary.

Mile 22: Christine Joann Lewchenko. She was the Aunt of our friend Marla, and had recently passed away. May she RIP

Mile 23: Margaret T Janosko. I've never met her, but "Margie" was the cousin of one of our running friends, Marnie Sutch. She had just recently passed away. RIP Margie.

Mile 24: Alex George Korbakes. I don't know Alex, but he was the brother of another runner I had the pleasure of training and running with over the years, Cristin Gorajczyk. I'm truly sorry for the loss of your brother Cristin, and my condolences to you and your family.

Mile 25: My Mom, Ruth Hull. This mile is for her retirement. I'm so happy that she has done this, but I know she's just a touch bored. But, it's so nice to see that she and my dad get to spend some of their finest years without having to wake up early to go to work, or to worry about 5 pain in the butt kids. Congratulations mom! You've earned it!

Mile 26: (plus .2) Bernie Augier. This mile is for you Bernie. It has been since you left to watch over us. It will always be your mile, my friend. We miss you every day brother.

And there you have it. My list for number 8. Crazy to think I'll be running Marathon 8, even if it's in a virtual capacity. However, I look forward to my next post when I get to make YOUR list of dedications for when I officially run my virtual Pittsburgh Marathon.

So, for now, we'll see you all real soon Pittsburgh. If I can be there, I'll be there. But for now, just keep on running.

Sinceriously,

Chuck Hull, The Running Jedi

#26miles26dedications #teamlemieux #runpgh #MOVEPittsburgh #bigfootsighting #bigfootlives

If you haven't yet, please consider a small donation to the Mario Lemieux foundation if you can. If not, please share with those that may be able to do so. Once we hit our $2500 goal, we'll be raffling off a signed Penguins Jersey, as well as some of that great Penguins Prizes, and more!