Long Island Man To Run 75 Miles In Two Days For Alzheimer's

PLAINVIEW, NY - Plainview resident Jay Asparro, who ran 90 miles in three days from Montauk to his hometown last year to raise money for Alzheimer's disease is planning another run this year.

In honor of what would have been his grandparent's 75 wedding anniversary, the 38-year-old plans to run a total of 75 miles in day days to raise money for the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation.

"When I finished the 90 miles and I went to my knees because I couldn't believe it was all over, I did not think I would do anything again," Asparro told Patch. "But I couple of days later, I thought about what's next and I had to do something again."

He describes the support from last year's event as "incredible."

"My family was with me every mile of those 90 miles and that was the most important, getting my family together and then I realized the impact the run had on other families, for every mile of the 90 miles I ran last year, I ran for a family who has been touched by Alzheimer's and after that I felt like it couldn't be over," he said.

He started the event last year in honor of his grandmother, Ann Asparro who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about four years ago.

Related:

• Long Island Man to Run 90 Miles to Raise Awareness For Alzheimer's
• Plainview's Jay Asparro Finishes 90-Mile Multi-Marathon Run Honoring Grandmother with Alzheimer's & Raising Funds for LIAF

"My grandmother is still living with Alzheimer's, my mom, my dad and aunt and uncle are still the primary caregiver for her so I felt like I had to do something again this year to raise money in honor of my grandmother and my parents," he said.

On Nov. 4 he will be running the same 50 miles used in the Ocean to Sound Relay, which took place on Sept. 24, from Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh to Theodore Roosevelt Park in Oyster Bay -- with a slight change.

"I drove down the path to see what it would be like and I realized that from mile 30 to 50 there are a lot of hills with no shoulders or road so I'm working on reversing that," Asparro said.

He plans to run from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The next day on Nov. 5, he will be running the last 26.2 miles in the NYC Marathon.

The amount of miles Asparro is running is not the only changes to this year's event.

He is also adding a "Virtual Challenge," which challenges participants to run or walk 75 miles between Oct. 5 and Nov. 5 before he runs on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5.

"I feel we can touch more lives with the challenge so people all over the country can sign up," he said "I think we can just reach more people."

Registration is $20 with $15.50 going towards the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation.

In addition, Asparro is hoping to top the amount of money raised from last year's. He raised a total of $38,000 running from Montauk to Plainview and now he hopes to raise $40,000.

However, he might have a small set back. In March, Asparro stepped on a branch while running in the woods and tore a ligament in his ankle.

"I've been training with a torn ligament in my ankle but that has forced me to ride a bike, swim in a pool and do hot yoga once or twice a week which has helped me drastically with my training," he said.

Another concern is the 48.8 mile run in one day, a distance he has never run in such a short amount of time.

"The furthest I've ever ran in a day is 31.2 miles, so I just have a strong faith in what I'm doing which is what I think will get me through the 10 hour ran with the support of my family, supporters and the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation," Asparro said. "It's just going to be a different challenge."

The marathon shouldn't be a problem for Asparro, who already ran the marathon in 2015.

"This has been my life for the past two years," he said.

In addition to the run, Asparro hosted a bowling event in March to raise money. He is also planning more for the future but is not ready to tell people yet. Instead he is focused on the upcoming event next month.

"It's not 90 miles but it's going to have its challenges and difficulties," he said. "The running is trying to give me a platform to talk about Alzheimer's, my grandmother, my parents and my aunt and uncle as a caregiver and the sacrifices they make as well as reach people who are going through this disease right now and helping them."

Photo courtesy of Jay Asparro