Justin Chapura, an ESL teacher at Bronx River High School, participated in the 2024 New York marathon. He took inspiration from his father, a three-time marathon runner, and Valerie Dolan, a former U.S. history teacher at Bronx River who ran the marathon three years ago.

He ran with over 50,000 contenders on November 3rd, starting at 8 a.m. on Staten Island and going through all five boroughs. “crossing that finish line was wild, everyone’s cheering, some people are collapsing on the ground because they’re so overwhelmed.” He remained consistent throughout the run and was at a loss for words after completion. Chapura mentions, “I never just stopped and walked.”

Mr. Chapura did not believe he could complete the marathon, even on the day of the race. He used the app ‘Couch to 5K’ to train himself. “It’s a 12 week program, you’re running three times a week and each time you run, you’re doing a little bit more jogging than the last time.” He adds, “the crowds were incredible, to hear thousands of people calling your name was so encouraging because it is a difficult race. Seeing that progression, putting the work in, being consistent, and just being able to finish is great.”

Mr. Chapura is hoping to run more Marathons in the future as well as he said  “Next year, I’m going to train a lot harder; I’m going to track all my runs because now that I know I can do it, I know I can get better.”