Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES III • September 18, 2013 Waldwick Borough marathoners planning benefit runs Two Waldwick athletes who have been training together will be making benefit runs this fall. Silvio A. Manziano plans to run not one, but two, marathons in the coming months. He will participate in the Chicago event in October and the New York event in November. Don’t be fooled, though. This Waldwick man is not running away from something. He is running toward a cure for Neurofibromatosis, as is Mitch Dickman. “Together, we plan on raising a lot of money for the Children’s Tumor Foundation,” Manziano said. “(Dick- man) completes every training run with me and we hope to finish the NYC Marathon together this November.” He continued, “I have been into running and training for marathons for a few years now. I started running at first for personal reasons, trying to challenge myself physically and mentally to achieve the goals I wanted, but over the last few years I shifted my focus into trying to help orga- nizations raise money for their charities. Three years ago, I ran some races for an organization called the Team Con- tinuum, which was involved with cancer research. I was really blown away by the number of families and people in town I have known for years who had been affected in their own lives by cancer. I received numerous e-mails and kind words from people that gave me the inspiration to train harder. This is when I realized that I had the ability to bring people hope and I decided to turn all my focus and energy into raising awareness for those that really needed it.” Manziano has called Waldwick home for nearly a decade, and says he has forged genuine friendships with some borough families. Last year, he learned that a family friend’s child was battling Neurofibromatosis, or NF. “NF causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and can lead to blindness, bone abnormalities, cancer, deafness, disfigurement, learning disabilities, and excru- ciating and disabling pain,” Manziano explained. “NF is under-recognized and under-diagnosed yet affects more people than cystic fibrosis, Duchene muscular dystrophy, and Huntington’s disease combined. The Children’s Tumor Foundation funds critical research to find treatments for NF. In addition to benefitting those who live with neuro- fibromatosis, this research is shedding new light on sev- eral forms of cancer, brain tumors, bone abnormalities, and learning disabilities, ultimately benefiting the broader community.” After learning about his friend’s child and the foun- dation, Manziano wanted to get more involved. In 2012, he ran the New York City Marathon with the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s NF Endurance Team and helped raise over $13,000 for research. This year, Manziano will run with the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s NF Endurance Team in the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13 and in the NYC Marathon on Nov. 3. “I know you might think that running 26.2 miles is crazy, but making a difference in the lives of families that live with neurofibromatosis each day will be life chang- ing -- so why not go for 52.4 miles?” he said. “Last year, I had such a great experience fundraising and meeting all the amazing NF Heroes and members of the Children’s Tumor Foundation that it is an honor to work with them again this year.” Manziano noted that training for a marathon takes a lot of hard work and dedication, including 5 a.m. training runs, running in the rain, eating right, and staying healthy. The typical 18-week program can take its toll on both body and mind if it’s not done right, Manziano added. Manziano says the greatest asset to his training is Dickman. Dickman has been married for 16 years. In 1997, he and his wife moved into the Waldwick home where Dickman’s wife was raised. He explained that he and Manziano were both are both involved in local sports programs and have sons who are the same age. However, they met one day when they were both out for a run. “We were both listening to music and then ended up talking for the rest of a five-mile run,” Dickman recalled. He added that he was always very active and started to run as a way to keep in better shape. “When I first started, I had trouble running on a tread- mill for more than 10 minutes at a time. Then, like anything else, it became an addiction,” Dickman said. He added that he finds that running is “a great way to clear your mind.” In 2011, he ran the New York Marathon as part of Team Continuum for his father-in-law, who had a long battle with cancer. “He battled for over eight months in a hospital bed, and is currently living a healthy life in Florida, playing golf daily,” Dickman reported. Dickman also learned about the Children’s Tumor Foun- dation through a friend in town whose child was diagnosed. He encourages people to read about CTF. http://www.ctf. org/. To make a donation, visit Dickman’s Web page, http:// ctf.kintera.org/nfenycmarathon2013/mitchrunsforctf. Manziano is also requesting support on his journey. Do make a donation, visit his fundraising page at http://ctf.kin- tera.org/nfenycmarathon2013/smanziano. He also invites supporters to post his fundraising link to their Facebook pages, and join him on race day by participating in a cheer- ing station along the course.