Community ties make Sheehan right fit for borough

Community ties make Sheehan
right fit for borough
BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer

There is no doubt that the George Sheehan Classic has found a true home in Red Bank. The forerunner of the race now run in the borough took place in Asbury Park and, while successful, never quite achieved the status in the community that the Sheehan has in the borough. Today, the race, which was held Saturday, draws people to the borough from around the country and around the world.

According to Bob Rosa, Ocean Township, a former race director and currently in charge of the Runners Expo in Marine Park held the Friday before and Saturday of the race, there were several reasons for moving and renaming the race.

"Our numbers were dropping. People were unhappy with Asbury Park," said Rosa. "We were looking for a town to move to. Long Branch wasn’t ready. We were connected to [Riverview Hospital] at the time. The hospital suggested Red Bank. And then George Sheehan died, and this all happened around the same time [in 1993 and 1994]."

Sheehan was born in Brooklyn in 1918, the oldest of a doctor’s 14 children. He became a cardiologist like his father. After medical school, he served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. Together with his wife, Mary Jane Flemming, they raised a dozen children.

At the age of 45, Sheehan began to run. He began writing a weekly column in a local paper, and this continued for 25 years.

"Listen to your body" became his slogan.

After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1986, Sheehan began writing his last book, "Going the Distance," a book not about running, but about dying. It was published shortly after his death.

Last weekend, thousands of people paid tribute to the dedicated writer, runner and doctor, by doing what they could for their own health and the health of others.

By Friday afternoon, Rosa esti­mated a total of 2,500 runners al­ready signed up and expected an­other 700 to register.

"The bulk of the runner’s are from the tri-state region, Pennsyl­vania, New York and New Jersey," said Rosa. "But, there’s an elite cat­egory. Because we’re part of the prize-money circuit of races in the country, there’ll be a handful of runners from Kenya, and there will be a couple from Ethiopia."

Rosa explained that there are a few groups from these African na­tions who set up home bases in the states in the summer season. By running races with significant prize money, these runners are able to return to their countries with enough money to live on for a year.

"They enter races based on prize money," Rosa said, "The stories I’ve heard is that the average annual income in Kenya is $800 a year. So, if you win a race or two and you go home with a little bit of money, you’ll be the richest man in your village with not a lot of money."

The budget for the race comes from three main sources. Sponsor contributions make up part of the money raised by the race. Also, par­ticipant fees and revenue from li­censed product sales at the expo add money to the pot.

In addition to the prize money that is awarded, a substantial con­tribution is made to the Parker Family Health Clinic, the organiza­tion in Red Bank that provides free health care to families with no health insurance.

"We got involved with them for two reasons," said Rosa, "The doctor who was the founder of the clinic, Gene Cheslock and George Sheehan were friends. Most of the doctors connected with the Parker Clinic are also affiliated with Meridian, who’s our prime sponsor. And it’s good for events like this to have a community and a charity affilia­tion."

Rosa estimates that between 5 and 10 percent of the funds raised by the race will go to the Parker Clinic.

Runners can also make contri­butions directly to the Parker Clinic when they register online. With around 20 percent of the runners registering on-line, the contribution towards the clinic can only go up, according to Rosa.

The race is not for profit, and any money that is left over at the end of one year is used to help get next year’s race started.

One of the sponsors, Straub Mer­cury, Keyport, has been involved with the race ever since it moved to Red Bank 11 years ago. The auto dealer supplies the pace car and some T-shirts.

"I went to CBA [Christian Broth­ers Academy] and I went to school with a couple of the Sheehans, and Dr. Sheehan was one of the founders of CBA," said Straub, ex­plaining that these connections to the Sheehan family caused him to inquire about sponsoring the race.

This year, Erin Brasch of Fair Haven is running her first George Sheehan Classic. The 15-year-old who runs track for Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, noted, "It goes right by my house. I’ve always watched it since I was a kid. I’ve always loved to run. Now that I’m old enough, I just thought I’d run it."

According to a biography pro­vided by the George Sheehan Clas­sic, Sheehan "never stopped searching for the truths of his life. ‘We are all unique, never-to-be-re­peated events,’ he said. His goal was to be the best George Sheehan as possible."

In his death, he has inspired oth­ers to be the best versions of them­selves, by encouraging physical fit­ness and community concern.