Councilman Fulop, Participating in First-Ever NJ/NY Ironman, Raises Money for Military Families
By Matt Hunger • Jul 27th, 2012 • Category: Blog, News
On Saturday Ward E Councilman and mayoral candidate Steve Fulop has a 20-mile run planned that will take about three hours. On Sunday, he’ll be on a bike for 110 miles – an estimated 6 hours 40 minutes. Then Monday he’ll do an hour and a half of swimming. Tuesday, he’s off.
That, he says, is a typical half-week of his training regimen for the first-ever Ironman competition in New Jersey/New York metro area. It’s also the first Fulop will participate in, though he has taken part in the Ironman’s lesser (but more historical) precursor: the marathon.
He was, as you might have heard, also in the Marines. And over there they have saying about pain being weakness leaving the body, which may not gel with medical science but does come in handy when you’re looking to take your place alongside other so-called iron-people.
All told, the Aug. 11 competition is a 2.4-mile swim down the Hudson, a 112-mile bike ride, and, finally, a full marathon, or 26.2 miles on foot that will take an estimated 2,500 competitors from their starting point at Fort Lee, N.J. to Manhattan.
The competition is more than just something to “cross off [his] bucket list,” as he puts it. It’s also a charitable effort he’s undertaking to raise funds for ReserveAid, a group that provides assistance to the families of Reservists or National Guard members while they are deployed or when they have just returned from a combat zone. To donate to his cause, go here, click “Team ReserveAid” in the dropdown menu, then type in “Steven Fulop.”
Fulop says he hopes to raise $20,000 for a “charity that is special to me being that I served and know firsthand the impact deployment has on families.” So far he has commitments and/or money totaling $17,000.
iPhone users can track Fulop on race day with a free app called IronTrac. But before then, he’ll be back at it next week with a training schedule that includes a bike ride that’s 30 miles of hill interval training, a combination 2-mile swim and 5-mile run, and an hour and a half bike ride.
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Matt Hunger is a staff writer for the Jersey City Independent.
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