Just prior to the start of tomorrow's mybergen.com Women's Good Living Festival 5K in Paramus, New Jersey, Race Director Mark Zenobia will take a moment to honor the memory of one of running's most successful and beloved competitors. Zenobia will speak about Grete Waitz, a running legend who dominated women's marathon running for years and was known as a humble, caring person. Waitz passed away on April 19, 2011.
Grete Waitz competed internationally, at the sport's highest level, for many years. Zenobia has also traveled extensively, directing races and other events throughout the US and abroad. And yet, a chance meeting between Zenobia and Waitz happened here in Bergen County on the campus of Bergen Community College. Zenobia, says of his first personal meeting with Grete, “It was right here at Bergen Community College in the late nineties when the Chase Corporate Challenge was in its New Jersey heyday, She had just flown in from Tampa to be a guest speaker at the race but she had a severely abscessed tooth. While I sat with her, someone located a local dentist and we arranged to get Grete transported for care. She was very grateful, a natural trait for this unassuming star.”
Just prior to the start of tomorrow's mybergen.com Women's 5K Run, Zenobia will briefly share this story with the crowd and ask runners to participate in a moment of silence in honor of Waitz.
Grete Waitz will be remembered as one of history's all-time great competitors as well as a great ambassador for running, for women and for many causes.
