What some people do before breakfast: train for marathons
ARHS College and Career Advisor Deidre Cuffee-Gray does not just help seniors figure out what is next career-wise or help them get into college; she runs long distances–for fun and for a good cause.
Cuffee-Gray marked her 60th birthday week this year by running in the New York City Marathon for the fourth time. “It became a weird tradition. I always run it on my birthday, or near my birthday,” she said.
The marathon itself took place on November 5, 2023. The race, which is 26.2 miles, took her 7 hours and 35 minutes. She said she alternated between running and walking throughout the race, rather than running the whole time.
Cuffee-Gray said for her, marathons are something she truly cares about. In the past, she ran to raise funds for a scholarship she created in her aunt’s name (The Cuffee Sisters Fund) at her previous school, Renaissance Charter, in Springfield.
This time she ran as a fundraiser for Multiple Myeloma, a cancer that forms in a type of white blood cell called a plasma cell. It is found in all kinds of people, yet disproportionately affects African Americans. It’s not genetic, and there are still a lot of questions about it. There is no known cure; however, there are life-extending medications that have helped people live longer.
Cuffee-Gray’s father and mother-in-law both unfortunately passed away from Multiple Myeloma, which is what motivated her to run for that cause.
She herself has MGUS, or “monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance” which is connected to multiple myeloma, a condition that means she has her blood monitored each year. She joined about 25 others on a Multiple Myeloma research team, which is the closest it came to being a “team” sport.
“I love team sports, yet running is a somewhat lonely sport,” she said. In total, she raised around $4,000 for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.
During the race, Cuffee-Gray made her way through the five different boroughs of New York City. These included Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island.
“One thing I’ve noticed throughout the years is how much that city has changed since the first time I ran in it,” said Cuffee-Gray. “It’s much more gentrified. In 2003, Fort Greene and Clinton were predominantly Black neighborhoods. Now they are more and more white and less affordable. Harlem and Queens too.”
She said “Williamsburg in Brooklyn is also much more filled with Millennials and pubs. The biggest piece is gentrification and big skyrise condos [in places] that used to be parking lots and brownstones.”
In terms of training, she didn’t want to disrupt her work life at ARHS, so she woke up at four in the morning every day before work and trained on her treadmill. On the weekends she ran on the bike trails near her home.
Cuffee-Gray’s first marathon took place in 2003 when she had turned 40. “It was my mid-life crisis,” she joked. “Some people get a motorcycle; I trained for a marathon.”
Cuffee-Gray hated running when she was in high school. What caused the change was those around her. “I had friends that were marathoners,” she said. “It was a social thing. Like most things in my life, it started socially, not because I loved running.”
When asked if she will run another marathon, Cuffee-Gray thinks not. “I think four is enough,” she said.
