I'm a roadrunner, baby...

Schedule no obstacle for this marathoner
By Lindsey Caton Special to The Citizen

Cheryl Moran, a resident of Southington, found time to train for the New York City Marathon between balancing her work as a public legal de­fender and working at two town restaurants, Anthony Jack’s and Bonterra, which she and her husband Barry De Paolo own. Having run the marathon once in 1995, Moran ran it again, but this time for a charity, North Shore Animal League Ameri­ca, which is the largest no­kill animal shelter in the world. The marathon starts on Staten Island and runs through all five boroughs of New York City, ending in Cen­tral Park at a traditional length of 26.2 miles. Runners are chosen by lottery, but any­one running for charity is au­tomatically accepted.

“I turned 40 this year, and I was thinking about some­thing to do. I had a dog I had adopted from this animal charity the same weekend that I ran that first marathon in 1995. And then we had to put her to sleep this year in March. I just thought it was very ironic that here was this animal charity where I had adopted my first dog, Phoebe, and they were rais­ing money for the marathon. With the way the economy is, I know that a lot of not-for­profit organizations and charitable organizations are really hurting. I’m a very passionate animal person, so it seemed like a perfect kind of thing to do.” According to its Web site, NSALA “is dedicated to sav­ing animals’ lives — not just in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut areas — but around the world. Our mo­bile units allow us to travel the country rescuing ani­mals from various different situations,” each year plac­ing nearly 20,000 pets into happy and loving homes. To date, NSALA has rescued close to 1 million dogs, cats, puppies and kittens.

Moran originally pledged to raise $2,500 but has since raised more than $3,000. She said that her family and friends have been really gen­erous. Moran has been following a training plan to prepare for the marathon. “You basically work your mileage up. I’ve been training probably seriously for about six months.” She said that balancing all the areas of her life is diffi­cult. “I’m in court three or four days a week. There are days when I have to get up and do a long run, and then I have to be in court, and I have to be at the restaurants. It’s tough, but you know what? It’s all good, and there are a lot of people who are not in as good a position as I am. I feel very lucky,” Moran said. “I feel very grateful for what I have. Hopefully, I can kind of give back, and I can help people and help animals, and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

For people who say that they could never run a marathon, Moran has this advice: “You can do it. So much of what we try to do in life is mental, and people let that break them down, but any­body can do anything. You really can. If you put in the time, and if you put in the hours and the training, you gradually work yourself up, just like anything else. Noth­ing is impossible, and I mean that in all aspects of life. I’m not a superstar. I’m not a su­perhero, but if I can do it, anybody can do it!”

To donate to Cheryl Moran’s fund for North Shore Animal League Amer­ica, visit www.active.com/­d o n a t e / t e a m a n i m a l ­league2009 and enter Moran in the search box.