Run for the Emily K Center!
Help Durham’s youth achieve their dream of a college education!
“I am not throwing away my shot!” --A. Hamilton.
My name is Scott Sanoff and on April 15th I will run the 123rdBoston Marathon to support the Emily K Center’s efforts to help Durham’s youth earn a college education. Why? Because my father, Alvin Sanoff, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2007, for whom I have dreamt of running this race, shared their core belief that higher education is a vital tool capable of lifting individuals, families, and communities beyond their collective imaginations.
Dad was the only child of refugees who were brave and fortunate enough to escape with their lives to the United States during the Russian Revolution. And, despite humble beginnings, the loss of his father as a teenager, and many years challenged by Crohn’s Disease, he lived what many immigrants consider the American Dream, building a thriving family and a successful career in journalism – achievements he credited to his education.
In one-on-one moments, he acknowledged the opportunities his education provided. He was forever thankful following the loss of his father, for his high school education at Boston Latin School and his needs-based scholarship to Harvard University. It was there, in the 1960’s that he fell in love with journalism and the vital role of the press in a functioning democracy. He went on to graduate school at Columbia University's School of Journalism, and as a cub reported at the Baltimore Sun, covered Baltimore’s riots following the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. And later, in a desire to help others through higher education, he taught journalism classes at American University, spent weekend mornings interviewing applicants to Harvard, and devoted much of his later career to writing about higher education, including many years at the helm of the U.S. News and World Report College Guide.
So, what is the significance of the Boston Marathon? Well, despite living in the D.C. burbs most of his adult life, my father was raised in Boston and read the sports pages of the Boston Globe (in particular the Red Sox’s box score) every day. When he became sick, I began long distance running to manage the grief that comes with a dying father, and soon after the idea of running my first marathon took shape. I remember crossing the finish line of the Baltimore Marathon in 2007, months after his passing, and whether it was the mind altering fatigue of 26.2 miles or a real mystical moment, it probably doesn’t matter, I felt my father in the crowd, wearing his Red Sox hat, swelling with pride that his son had run a marathon in his honor. The seed was planted at that moment, to run the Boston Marathon as a tribute to his life, though I don’t think I could have imagined it would take more than decade of racing and more than 10,000 miles of training to makes this happen. In the meantime, I was gifted the meditative miles of running - few things provide more time to dream than the long miles of marathon training, time I now consider both precious and vital.
Finding the Emily K Center was one of life’s serendipitous moments. My wife Hanna and I were invited to their annual Mother's Day gala, as guests of Ann and Marty Murphy, whose philanthropy we strive to emulate. It was there we learned the many ways The Center supports local underprivileged youth's pursuit of a college education - extraordinary by any measure. It was there we heard the many stories of graduates from the Emily K Center, each of them brought thoughts of my father. It was there I connected the The Center’s mission, my father’s life, and how I could make the most of qualifying for the 2019 Boston Marathon.
So – that’s the story. On April 15th I will run the Boston Marathon to support a belief that my father held dear, and that the Emily K Center lives every day, that a college education can help lift youth, families, and communities. Please join me.
Follow my journey on:
Twitter: @frijole_loco
Instagram: @frijole_loco
Strava: Scott Sanoff (or join team Frijoles Locos)
