I’ve lived in NJ all but three years of my life, so… well, an increasingly long time, and never prior had there been a real threat of hurricane, but Sandy had different plans, wreaking havoc on New Jersey and New York. Sometime around 1 AM I got the call, “BaseCamp lost power… the flu shots!” I jumped from bed, knowing immediately what needed to be done. Our supply of flu vaccine, that would be used in the coming weeks to inoculate many of the same workers that NJ would rely on to restore its power, needed to find a new home for cold storage and fast. Thankfully one partner’s home was less than two miles away and had both power and a back-up generator. We sprang to action…and this time, “doing whatever it takes”, looked like driving through the tail-end of a hurricane in the middle of the night, navigating past downed trees and closed road, loading a fully stocked and sealed fridge into the back of a truck, and carting it off to safety. Crisis # 1 averted….
The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was heartbreaking. We lost power for two weeks, our business was mostly shuttered, and we had it easy. People, especially those around the Jersey Shore and Staten Island areas, lost much, much more. But one thing wasn’t being shut down; the 2012 NYC Marathon, and thankfully not…after all, one of ours (Lindsay Eisenhart) would be running, making her return to the race she’d completed over a decade prior in honor of a friend lost too soon. And after months of training, it was almost time to toe the line again, but something was off.
“I just don’t feel right about this. I feel like the generators powering the starting line in Staten Island should be used for the people out here who lost everything. Maybe I’ll just run the 26 miles around home…. We could throw it out there and if anyone wants to join or sponsor a mile or two we could give it to charity and restoration efforts… what do you think?”
Shortly after Mike received the message, he called to relay Lindsay’s sentiment, and as it often does, his brain took off and fast! We’d “throw a marathon” and invite the community to join in for as much as they’d like. Whether to walk a mile in solidarity, to run 26.2, or anything in between, if they were willing to get “out there” with us, we’d be sure they had a course cleared, and ample support along the way. Oh, and it would all take place in less than 48 hours. We had work to do.
Within hours of Lindsay’s decision, we again sprang to action. Justin would be in charge of getting the message out via various media channels. Nick would handle back-end systems and registration, and Mike and I, chainsaws in hand, would literally carve the course, removing any downed trees along our preferred path. I have to admit, when nj.com’s call pulled me momentarily from clearing the Columbia trail that night, I was more than a little surprised how fast the news was traveling. But what I didn’t realize was that the NYC marathon had decided to cancel just moments prior to the call, and runners who had traveled in from all over the country were seeking a place to check their marathon box. We were now a solution to their problem.
On race morning at Bundt Park, Mike, with megaphone in hand, 500 runners showed, most with cash in hand to contribute to the cause. Some walked… many ran…. And more than we expected completed the full distance. There were water stops, directional signage and course marshals, cheer zones, and entertainment along the course, just like you might expect at a “real” race. It had been 48 hours and we “threw a marathon”. The community came together to pull it off and it was awesome. Crisis #2 averted.
Later that night, we realized two very important things: 1) We had raised $10,000 for charity and needed a better way to direct charitable efforts, and 2) Our community was ready for a group to coordinate events that brought it together, in celebration of health and fitness, for meaningful causes. In 2012 with the help of community stakeholders who shared in these thoughts and saw a vision, we re-launched our 501 c 3 charitable organization, today known as BaseCamp 31 and began formulating plans that would grow up (six years later) to be Main Street Marathon, LLC our health and fitness event production group. It will never be lost on us how challenging the story of a hurricane often is and can be, yet we are grateful that when we look at some of life’s greatest challenges from different angles, we often uncover some of its most rewarding opportunities.
-Eric E.
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