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Family motto: ‘Run fast, live slow’
(by Kimberly Redmond - October 07, 2008)
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Photo Courtesy Of Resound Marketing
Hector Martinez, along with his wife, Christine will run in the 2008 Family Reach 5K on Oct. 12 at Darlington Park in Mahwah. Their two children, Lauren and Andrew, will man the booth, cheering on the runners and selling Hector’s “Run fast, live slow” t-shirts. All the proceeds will be donated to the Family Reach Foundation.
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The motto of Hector Martinez, an avid runner, might seem quite contradictory at first: “Run fast, live slow.”
However, the River Vale resident explains his mantra as “appreciating the gifts and abilities you have and taking the time to enjoy them.” In his case, the “run fast” part literally applies to him, as he has been running on and off since high school. Martinez became even more serious about running in 2005 when he participated in the New York City Marathon. Since then, he’s laced up his sneakers and competed in the New York City Marathon, the Philadelphia Marathon and the Miami Marathon. Now, he’s training for his fifth marathon, the New York City Marathon in November.
Only recently did Martinez begin running for a good cause. When trying to get a spot in the 2005 New York City Marathon, Martinez had some trouble. He didn’t get in through the lottery, like his friend did, so he decided to explore an alternate route to running the 26.2-mile race. Upon discovering he’d be able to compete in the marathon for a non-profit organization, he linked up with Fred’s Team, an organization that has raised millions of dollars for pediatric cancer research. The organization is a cooperative effort between Fred Lebow, the New York City marathon creator and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital.
After squaring away the sponsorship, Martinez began to focus on the marathon itself. “Training took on a new meaning,” said Martinez. He was instilled with a fierce determination to complete the 26.2 mile race simply because he “didn’t want to let the kids down.”
“During a race, you have a choice to walk, run or stop. I knew I needed to continue running because I was running it for them,” Martinez explains.
Following the NYC Marathon, Martinez felt compelled to continue helping families fighting pediatric cancer and other terminal diseases. As a fundraiser, Martinez designed a t-shirt with his “Run fast, live slow” motto with all the proceeds going towards supporting families fighting pediatric cancer. He then began a search for organizations with a similar mission to whom he could donate the t-shirt sale proceeds.
One day, Martinez’s wife, Christine, was flipping through a local magazine and happened upon some information about the Family Reach Foundation, an organization that focuses its efforts upon assisting families fighting pediatric cancer. The assistance provided by the Foundation covers a variety of expenses that typically mount during a patient’s treatment. These expenses range from transportation costs to and from care centers to assisting with household bills that accumulate due to lost wages of parents to palliative care.
Brian Morello, one of the organization’s original founders, explained that the Family Reach Foundation began as a local, grassroots charity in 1995 and has slowly but steadily grown into an official nonprofit. “People seemed to have gravitated towards our mission,” said Morello. The foundation is striving to help over 1,000 families in the next three to five years. The Family Reach Foundation sponsors several fundraising events throughout the year, including a 5K marathon and a dinner-dance.
In 2007, at the Family Reach 5K, Martinez starting selling his t-shirts, with all the proceeds being donated to the foundation. Martinez, along with his family, will do the same at this year’s Family Reach 5K, on Oct. 12 at Darlington Park in Mahwah. His wife Christine, another avid runner, will be participating in the 5K beside Martinez. His two children, Lauren, 8 years old, and Andrew, 6 years old, will be manning the booth selling t-shirts. Although his children aren’t too clear on the particulars of pediatric cancer, according to Martinez, they fully comprehend the importance of selling the t-shirts and making donations. “The more I expose my kids to, the more likely they are to be grateful for what they have.”
Gratitude is a theme that runs through the Martinez family. Martinez is perpetually busy. His job at a brokerage service requires him to spend a great deal of time traveling. These jaunts away from home have taught him to cherish all the time he can get with his family. “If it means sacrificing sleep or not mowing the lawn in order to spend the time with my kids, that’s what I’ll do,” he said. He and his wife share similar viewpoints on this, and despite hectic schedules, Martinez finds time to coach soccer and football and his wife coaches cheerleading.
In an age of chronic multitasking, Martinez reasons, “You’re gonna run anyway, you might as well help someone while you do!”
For further information or to make a donation to the Family Reach Foundation, visit: www.familyreach.org To buy Martinez’s “Run Fast, Live Slow” t-shirt, contact hhmartinez@optonline.net
Kimberly Redmond's e-mail address is redmondk@northjersey.com.
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