Rob Cornell Runs for Michael J. Fox Foundation
Find out how to help Rob Cornell meet his fundraising goal
Come Sunday, Nov. 6, about 100,000 people will line up to run the ING New Yokr City Marathon.
Some will be running to win part of the $600,000 in prize money. Others will run simply for the challenge of completing the more than 26-mile course that winds through all five boroughs of the city and finishes in Central Park.
And, some, like Hamiltonian Rob Cornell, will run to help someone else.
Once again, the 2002 HCS graduate will be a member of Team Fox, running to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Reasearch. Last year Cornell raised $3,000 for the foundation that the star of TV's Family Ties and Spin City and a string of movies including the Back to the Future franchise after being diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991.
Cornell is hoping to match the amount of money he raised last year.
Cornell said:
“I actually joined the Fox Foundation after reading Michael J. Fox’s incredible story. He’s a extremely modest man who hasn’t let this disease change the way he lives. He’s determined to fight it and find a cure not just for himself, but for the 60,000 people that will be diagnosed with PD this year alone. It’s one of those incurable diseases that no one talks about or even really knows anything about. I can’t say that I knew much about it prior to reading his books. But now that I am aware of it, I just wanted to try and help anyway I could.
“Last year I ran the marathon in 3:43.03 and was able to raise just over $3,000 for Team Fox in the process. This year I am hoping to break both of those. I have set a goal of $3,000, but am pushing for more. As for the race itself, I’ll push my body as fast as it will go in hopes of eclipsing last year’s time.”
“The support that I received from the race last year was tremendous. I reached my fundraising goal by contributions from close to 100 people. This year, I would ideally like to reach out to more. One of my main goals is not just focusing on the money, but also spreading awareness about the MJF Foundation. The more people who know about it, the more it grows, and the closer they get to finding a cure.”
“I’ve never been much of a fundraiser, or even much of a runner for that matter. But when this opportunity came along with this group, I couldn’t resist stepping out of my comfort zone. And trust me; running 26.2 miles is not comfortable. But I found that it’s true that when raising money for a cause every dollar really does count.”
Cornell is a graduate assistant in the sports information department at Wagner College in Staten Island. He is pursuing his Master’s degree in Childhood Education/Special Education.
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