All Invited As Middletown Man Holds 6-Mile Run To Honor Sept. 11

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This Friday, nearly everyone in America will stop — even if it's just for a moment — and think about what happened 19 years ago.

Some may attend a 9/11 vigil in their town or school, or participate in community service. But this Middletown man is going for a run — and he'd like you to join him.

Dan Healy, 35, grew up in Middletown; he's a graduate of Mater Dei Prep and now lives in West Keansburg. He's also in the U.S. Army Reserves.

At 5 p.m. on Friday, he is organizing a six-mile run from the Port Monmouth First Aid Squad to the top of Mount Mitchill in Atlantic Highlands, which is the site of Monmouth County's Sept. 11 memorial.

"I had looked around and all the Sept. 11 runs, all the 5Ks, 10Ks, everything had been canceled due to COVID," said Healy, who said he "definitely got more into running during the lockdown. It was something to do."

"So I figured well, I'm just going to run alone. Six miles is not a lot, but it's something," he said. "I want to memorialize this day. I wanted it to be challenging."

This is a very casual, loosely organized run: There are no bibs. No race clock. No free t-shirt. Just show up in your sneakers at 5 p.m. at the Port Monmouth First Aid Squad (194 Wilson Ave.) and run with Healy.

He'll take the Henry Hudson Trail to get there, and then wind up a scenic back road to the peak of Mount Mitchill. Healy estimates the course will take about an hour, reaching Mount Mitchill's sweeping views — and direct sight line to Lower Manhattan and the Freedom Tower — at about 6 p.m.

Healy said he'll run with the American flag the whole time, which he's been taking with him on his practice runs throughout Keansburg and Middletown.

He said he doesn't know exactly how many people will show up Friday. Anyone is welcome to wear a mask and social distancing will be respected.

"People will 'like' the (Facebook) page, but will they show up?" he laughed. "I don't know if it's going to be five people, or thirty people or 100."

And if you want — and if you can afford it, he stresses — you can make a donation to his fundraising page, Stop Soldier Suicide.

Healy is running 100 miles through the month of September, which is Suicide Awareness Month. So far, he's collected $1,300 to prevent solider suicides and he's run 55 miles since Sept. 1.

"Two people in my basic training unit committed suicide," he said. "I don't know why. Nobody really understands it. But it's unfortunate when it happens. I've never been deployed yet, although I hope to be, and when I come back I want this to be there to help me. You never know how something is going to affect you."

Here is Healy's event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/956336211534951/

And his Stop Soldier Suicide fundraising page: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1035737533564147&id=100013837307941&substory_index=3

Middletown police holding 9/11 memorial run at 8:46 a.m. Friday

Coincidentally, the Middletown police department will also host a 9/11 memorial run Friday, in the morning. The police run will cover a 4.5-mile route, starting at the Middletown World Trade Center Memorial Gardens at 8:46 a.m. (the time the first plane hit the North Tower) and ending at the town's second September 11th memorial, located at the water’s edge at the New Jersey State Marina on Concord Ave. in Leonardo.

The run was organized by officers Rich Belmonte and Shane Hall, members of Patrolman’s Benevolent Association Local #124, and money will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

Middletown police are running to honor — among the many who died — Detective Lieutenant Joseph Capriotti (retired), who passed away on June 6, 2019, after a long battle with cancer, which was attributed to his work at the World Trade Center site in the days following the attack.

"I think we can remember 9/11 by doing something good, while being proud as Americans," said Healy. "In times like this, we need to have a positive outlook. Find something bigger to support, something bigger than ourselves and support it with everything you've got."

Healy currently has a full-time job as a bridge and tunnel agent with the Port Authority (he mans the Holland Tunnel), but he got his start as a Middletown volunteer firefighter and EMT.

He's been clocking five miles a day throughout the pandemic.

"I am really sore!" he said. "I ran past (Gov.) Murphy the other day with my running group. He was out running by the Navesink Country Club. He doesn't run that fast."

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