Wake Forest Athletics
Brendan Henry Runs NYC Marathon for Charity
12/6/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Dec. 6, 2013
By Emma Lingan, WakeForestSports.com
NEW YORK - Charity helped motivate sophomore tennis player Brendan Henry to take on one of the biggest challenges of his life as he ran the full 26.2 miles at the ING New York City Marathon last month.
Henry was one of eight marathon participants who ran to raise money for USTA Serves, the charitable branch of the United States Tennis Association that provides athletic and educational opportunities to youth and people with disabilities.
Henry pledged to raise money by seeking donations to support his effort. All the money he raised was allocated to tennis and education programs in the USTA Eastern Section, which gave him his start in tennis at an early age in his home state of New York.
"I actually ended up raising the most money for the charity," Henry said. "We raised $4,500, I think. I just wanted to give back to something that gave me so much. I know tennis helped me now in college and will help me in life, so I just wanted to give other children the chance to do the same."
After hearing about the opportunity from his mother, Henry applied and was selected to be a representative of USTA Serves over the summer. This gave him only a limited time to train for the 26.2-mile run.
"I only did a 12-week (training) program," Henry said. "I would do five, six, or seven miles throughout the week and one long run on the weekend. So I progressed from 13 to 16 to 18 to 21 miles, and that was my longest run that I did. "
Despite the abbreviated training regimen, the Massapequa, N.Y., native was excited to run his first marathon in his home state.
"They say New York City is the toughest marathon but the most thrilling marathon because the crowd is just incredible and they really get you through those tough miles," Henry said.
Henry, who comes from a family of runners, ran the marathon alongside his aunt and received tremendous encouragement from the rest of his family.
"My family was a pretty big support because my dad has run 10 or so marathons, my uncle has run over 10 marathons, and my aunt--who actually ran this marathon with me--has run almost 10 as well," Henry said. "So running has just been in the family for a while."
Henry's Wake Forest teammates were also a major support system, and they were eager to share the experience with him even from miles away.
"My teammates couldn't believe it when I told them I was running a marathon," Henry said. "[There is] a chip in the number that you wear so people are able to track you while you're running. They were tracking me the whole time, so that was pretty cool to hear about afterwards."
Henry, who began to feel the effects of his reduced training time toward the end of the race, said completing the marathon was one of the most difficult, yet most rewarding, experiences of his life.
"At mile 23 I hit a wall, and I was seriously contemplating whether to stop or not because my legs were pretty dead at that point," Henry said. "Crossing that finish line was probably the best feeling that I've ever had in my life. "
Although he struggled physically, Henry said that his mental strength helped him push through the final miles and finish the race in 3:48:12.
"It was the greatest accomplishment of my life by far," Henry said. "No one runs 23 miles not to get 26 so that's what I kept telling myself. I also saw my family at mile 25 so that helped me to get through the last 1.2 miles."
Ultimately, Henry's greatest inspiration to finish came from the people he would be helping as a result. Though crossing the finish line was undoubtedly a personal accomplishment, it also meant more opportunities for children who, like Henry, will have the chance to pursue tennis and their education at a more advanced level.
"The donations that I collected were a promise to them that I would do my best and I would finish," Henry said. "So by finishing the marathon I was also doing it for the money I raised and for the kids, because I felt like if I didn't finish, raising all that money wouldn't mean anything."
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