Long Island Man to Run 90 Miles to Raise Awareness For Alzheimer's

One Long Island man will be running from Montauk to Plainview to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer's this November.

After 37-year-old Plainview resident Jay Asparro finished his first marathon in New York City last year, he was inspired to do something that combined some of the things that are important to him: running, family and God.

After watching several documentaries on ultra runners, he decided he wanted to do more than a half-marathon or marathon to raise awareness.

"For some reason the number 90 popped in my head," he said.

He then thought of running to his hometown and after seeing that Montauk, where he often went to visit in the summer, was about 90 miles from the town, he knew it was where his run had to take place.

"It was a sign," he said. "I thought to myself 'I need to do this.'"

That's when he got the idea to start the Ann Asparro run, in honor of his grandmother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about three years ago.

From Nov. 4-6, Asparro will be running from the St. Therese of Lisieux church in Montauk to his hometown church, St. Pius X in Plainview.

The first day he will run 29.4 miles from Montauk to Shinnecock, the second day he will run 31.2 miles from Hampton Bays to Blue Point and run 29.4 miles the last day from Blue Point to Plainview.

He is hoping to raise a total of $40,000, which will all be donated to the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation. So far, he has raised about $3,500.

Asparro claims this is the first and only year he will be doing the run.

"I want to raise as much money as I can because I'm only doing this once," he laughs.

Asparro has been training for the run since January, and while he is taking steps to make sure he's prepared to run 90 miles in 3 days, he still has concerns.

He's been up at 5 a.m. to run and train while also working and taking care of his two kids, Olivia, 3, and Shane, 8 months, along side his wife, Allison, which he says has taken a mental and physical toll on him.

"I do ask if my body is going to hold up," he said.

While he has ran in three half-marathon and one marathon before, Asparro doesn't really consider himself an "avid" runner.

This past weekend, he took a three-day break from running, but now says he's not planning on taking any days off until the run. He's been running about 60 miles every week.

In addition, to prepare for the run he has been going to physical therapy, working with a trainer and a nutritionist, going to cyrotherapy in Syosset and getting massages.

"It was hard in the very beginning because not too many people were very supportive, a lot of people thought I was crazy," Asparro said. "But I've been getting more support once they saw all the training I was doing."

He has received a lot of support from his local church, who will also be hosting a 5K on Oct 1 to raise money for Alzheimer's as well as Family Bagels in Plainview who are donating proceeds from t-shirt sales to the cause as well.

"This disease takes a toll on the whole family," he said. "I wanted to do this for the families who are taking care of someone with Alzheimer's. I also am doing this for my children. It's important to me that they learn the lesson to help others in the community and I have to do that by showing them not telling them."

If you would like to sponsor Asparro's run, send an e-mail to familybagels@gmail.com. To make a donation, visit his website at: http://www.theannasparrorun.co...

Photo: Facebook.com/The Ann Asparro Run