Bill Gross to run 100th marathon this weekend

Bill Gross, Director of Brookfield Learning Center, to run 100^th marathon

Bill Gross, 64, will complete his 100^th marathon on November 19. The event will mark a return to the place he ran his very first marathon 14 years earlier- the Philadelphia Marathon. Bill and his family have lived in the Brookfield area for over 25 years but, as a Philadelphia native, he chose it as the site of his first attempt at the 26.2-mile challenge.

When Bill crossed that first Philadelphia finish line in 2003 it was only one of two big events. A month earlier, in October 2003, Bill opened the Brookfield Learning Center on Federal Road. This was quite a change for the former advertising executive whose career included serving as a Senior VP at J. Walter Thompson in New York. Approaching his 50^th birthday and pushing 230 pounds it was a wake-up call for Bill to make some changes.

“Running was the farthest thing from my mind. I was the guy who made fun of friends who went for a jog at lunchtime. I never was an athlete, preferred to watch sports, not play them”. But his fitness trainer included running was a minor part of the weight loss program. “I started to run a few local Rec Center 5 and 10Ks and enjoyed it, even beating a few people in my age group. Another runner suggested I try a half marathon so I signed-up for the Ridgefield Half that year and a marathon seemed possible.

One change lead to another and after 25 years of selling kids products like Kool-Aid, Honeycomb, Baby Ruth and Toll House cookies he set out to feed their minds instead.

Bill opened the Brookfield Learning Center (originally named Tutoring Club) in September 2003 while training for the Philadelphia marathon in November.

“Once I crossed the line in Philly I wanted to do it again—and faster. New York and Boston were my next goals. I was hooked.”

After New York Bill started asking other runners about their favorite events. The Learning Center was just getting started but he found time for the marathons that sounded interesting. “Marathoning has taken me places I would never have gone and allowed me to experience places I have visited but from a fresh perspective and at a different pace”.

Where has Bill run? Most of the big city races – Chicago, LA, SF, Miami and Dallas. Eventually traveling abroad to run in Paris, Rome and Berlin. “My wife and I celebrated my 60^th birthday with a trip to run Venice—yes—they build pontoon bridges on the canals for the day. This past November I had the unique good fortune of participating in the Havana Marathon, an event no longer open to Americans.”

Bill’s favorite marathon? “For a long time, it was New York. Where else can and ordinary person be cheered by two million spectators?” One event changed that view. “I used to think the Boston Marathon was overhyped. A badge of exclusivity for serious-minded runners.” Then came 2013. Bill was halted less than a half mile from the finish line. “A manhole cover explosion” a policeman told Bill. But the reality was quite different. It became eerily personal when Bill learned that the explosion occurred at almost his precise finishing time the prior year in Boston. Bill was invited to run again the following year, “Boston 2014 was, by far, my favorite marathon. Because that day the city of Boston took back their event and made it a celebration of running and defiance, forming a bond between the spectators and runners.”

What is Bill most proud of? “Two things. One is finishing every marathon I started”. At first Bill was obsessed with achieving time goals. His then 11-year-old daughter, Katherine, asked “Daddy, isn’t the point of a marathon to finish?”. That put things in perspective and time goals were replaced by a new goal- finishing each race and walking away without pain.

He is equally proud that his Brookfield Learning Center will celebrate its 15^th year in 2018. We have survived as an independent learning center longer than all the big franchised tutoring business in the area. I think that is because we use our freedom to craft a unique plan for each student. Our longevity and track record led to relationships with both the Brookfield and Danbury Public Schools.

What’s next? Marathon #101 of course and looking forward to helping another generation of students to cross their personal finish line.