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closeBELLEFONTE TO BOSTON CHALLENGE Riding to the challenge
Man to bicycle 518 miles to the Boston marathon
By Stephanie Koons
- skoons@centredaily.com
Roger Greene, of Bellefonte, makes his living helping people reach their physical potential. Now he’s pushing himself to his own limits.
CDT/Catrina Rawson
Roger Greene, a Cyclist and Restek Wellness Coordinator, is joining the 2008 Centre Volunteers in Medicine Boston Marathon Challenge Team by riding his bike from Bellefonte to Boston. Friday, April 4, 2008.
Greene, the wellness coordinator at Restek Corp. in Bellefonte, next week will bicycle 518 miles, from the Restek offices near Bellefonte to Boston, as part of the 2008 Centre Volunteers in Medicine Challenge.
He plans to arrive in Boston in time to greet 27 people who will compete in the 112th Boston Marathon with the goal of raising $65,000 for CVIM, a nonprofit organization that provides free medical and dental care to uninsured Centre County residents.
“He really has made an incredible personal effort to help us,” said Kristen Houser, CVIM’s executive director. “I think that level of commitment speaks volumes to the community about the services we provide here.”
About 25 riders will join Greene, 33, on the first leg of his trip from Bellefonte to Lewisburg on Tuesday. He plans to arrive in Boston on April 19, and said he will greet the CVIM runners before the race April 21 with “some kind of ceremonial handoff.”
Restek’s Bellefonte to Boston Challenge started in 2006, when Melissa Aukerman, then a Restek fitness trainer, approached Greene with an idea for supporting runners who were about to undertake the Boston Marathon Challenge as a fundraiser for CVIM.
She wanted to organize an all-day, indoor bike-riding fundraiser in which riders would cover the distance from Bellefonte to Boston. Restek set a goal of raising $2,500 throughout the event, the amount it takes to run CVIM for one day.
In 2007, Restek held another all-day riding event, with the goal of raising $5,500 to help CVIM purchase a portable dental unit If the company reached that goal, Greene agreed he would bike from Bellefonte to Boston the following year.
“But, you know, honestly, in the back of my mind, I knew that $5,500 was going to be a bit of a stretch,” Greene said. “... So, when I found out that we reached that goal, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really going to have to do this.’ ”
This is Greene’s first time taking on a 500-mile ride, he said. To train, he has been biking five to six days a week, with an average ride of about 21⁄2 hours, and rides from three to six hours on weekends. During the winter, he said, most of his weekday rides were on an indoor Spinning bike, but as the days have gotten warmer, he has been biking outside more.
The most difficult part of next week’s trip, Greene said, has been managing the logistics — figuring a route along back roads that avoids interstates, and determining where he will stay each night. His wife, Shannon, will be there to see him off each morning. Greene said the Bellefonte to Boston Challenge complements his philosophy as a personal trainer and wellness coordinator.
“I spend the majority of my time encouraging people to be more physically active and encouraging people to kind of step up and take ownership of their health,” he said. “So that way there’s less of a dependence on medical benefits and prescription drugs.”
Working for a company such as Restek, he said, which provides its employees with numerous benefits, has made Greene more sympathetic to people who aren’t so lucky.
“These people are doing everything in their power to make ends meet and to really make the best life for themselves, “ he said. “Being able to kind of help, even in a small way with that, is really awesome because I am so fortunate with the company I work for.”
