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Pisano achieves goal, completes back-to-back marathons

Jason Pisano achieved one of his most ambitious goals yet last weekend, successfully completing back-to-back marathons.
The West Warwick resident, who has cerebral palsy and races by pushing himself backward in a wheelchair, first finished the Breakers Marathon in Middletown on Oct. 21 with a time of 9 hours, 33 minutes and 23 seconds.
Pisano then headed to Mystic, Conn. the next morning and completed the Mystic Country Marathon in 7:43:22.
They represented races No. 36 and 37 in his quest to finish 50 marathons.
Pisano was featured earlier this week on NBC 10. Click here to see the video clip.
Posted by Carolyn Thornton

Celebrating with Team Pisano at the Iron Man After Party

Hurting but thrilled

Team Pisano in action

52.4 miles in two days what a feeling!

Last weekend was quite a busy one for me. About six months ago, I came up with the idea to attempt back- to- back marathons this October. I have been doing marathons for 12 years, but I never had attempted a task so demanding as racing 52.4 miles in a span of two days. I signed up for the Breakers Marathon and the Mystic Places Marathon slated for October 21st and 22nd.
Last Saturday my guide runners and I arrived at Gaudet Middle School in Middletown, Rhode Island at 6 a.m., an hour before the Breakers Marathon would begin. Going into this marathon I was feeling great and I really expected to get one of my best times on this course, that was until 40 mile per hour wind gusts hit me when I was near the ocean. The first four miles flew by and I was right on pace for a personal best then the wind picked up and the next two miles took almost as long as the first four. After this occurred I knew that I would have to change my goal to just completing the race.
The Breakers course is a loop marathon with a lot of long winding hills that seem like they never end. During a loop marathon it has it’s ups and downs, the good part is you know what is coming up next the negative is you have to do the difficult parts three times. This day was quite long and took a toll on me mentally as well as physically every mile that went by I knew I was losing time but I had no choice but to push on. After eight hours on the course I very aggravated, tired and was ready to get this day over with. Just over an hour and a half later I reached the finish line in one of my slowest times in years. I completed the course in 9:28:11 but the important thing was I finished.
After that it was straight home to get ready for the next day and my next challenge, the Mystic Places Marathon in East Lyme, Connecticut. I had a good meal prepared by my stepfather and a great nights sleep. On Sunday we woke up at 5 a.m. and prepared to do it all again. It was cool out but I noticed the winds were nowhere as prominent as they had been the day before. Although I was hurting this made me more optimistic. When we arrived in East Lyme I got changed and got into my racing chair once again to warm up. This is a feeling I will never forget it really felt like I never got out of that chair and my right hip was throbbing.
At 9 a.m. my guides and I started the final half of my personal Iron man. The first three miles of this race are in the park and are all slightly uphill, this was not great for me with the way I was feeling. It took us over an hour just to get out of the park and I was thinking “Here we go again” but then one of my guides that I went to college with came up with a strategy that got me motivated and I slowly began to get back the time I had lost. At the half way mark of this marathon I was at 4:06 I wanted to do this marathon in less than eight hours, to accomplish this I would have to run the second 13 miles faster than the previous. Honestly I didn’t know how much longer my hip or my legs would hold out. With the encouragement of my guides, fellow competitors and spectators I began to feel much better. Almost every mile was getting faster and faster and eight hours no longer seemed unreachable. When I hit the 20-mile mark I was at six-hours, I knew I could achieve my goal.
Although the last six miles had a few big hills I managed to keep the pace, which allowed me to finish in 7:43:24. I was quite a bit happier with this performance than with my performance on Saturday. Now that this is over and I achieved my ultimate goal of completing two marathons back -to- back I would like to thank everyone who made it possible. I would like to thank my mother and stepfather for doing all the preparations and getting me to and from the races. I also would like to thank all my friends that came out to cheer me on. However most of all I would like to thank my three guides Dr. Scott Dresden, Nathan Tompkins and Chad Johnson. Thanks to the three of them I was able to accomplish one more of my goals. 37 down and 13 to go!

MY IRONMAN

With less than 24 hours to go till my attempt at back-to-back marathons I am focused and ready to push my body and soul to the limits. This will be my biggest challenge to date. I have been doing marathons for over 12 years but I never tackled a task as monumental as competing in two 26.2 mile marathons in a span of approximately 32 hours.
Over the past 12 weeks that I have been training, I have encountered many obstacles along the way. From daily visits to see my grandmother in a nursing home, to losing several of my guide runners, to fighting the flu and a cold, I managed to somehow keep on my training schedule. Training for a marathon for me is always a challenge even under the best of circumstances. First of all I have to make sure I get myself in tiptop shape before I can complete a race that is as draining as a marathon. In order to do this I need the time, along with the proper assistance to maintain a regular training program.
In early September I was faced with a large hurdle to overcome when one of my aides had to leave without giving any notice. Fortunately a good friend and former aide came to my assistance and found me two very quick learners to help me get back on schedule. When training for a marathon full-time your body gets run down and you are more susceptible to illness. This happened to me twice recently. Fortunately I trained through it and now am completely recovered.
Another factor for anyone training for a marathon, never mind back-to-back marathons, is time management. Because of how I race it takes me a lot longer to put in the miles needed to get my body in condition to be ready when I get to the starting line. An able-bodied runner might take an hour and a half for a long training run, while it will take me closer to three hours to complete that same distance. Along with this I have to make time for weight training, work, meals and adequate rest. All this makes for a very full day.
Fortunately I have a very loyal support system that I like to call “Team Pisano”. Team Pisano is made up of my aides, guide runners, friends and family, and sponsors. Without these special individuals I wouldn’t be able to continue my quest for 50 marathons. Tomorrow morning when I wake up at around 4 a.m. it will mark the beginning of my Iron Man weekend. Next week when I write my next column I hope to report that I successfully completed both marathons in a satisfactory amount of time. So on Monday, I’ll probably be very sore, but I should have only 13 marathons to go before I reach my ultimate goal of completing 50 career marathons.
In conclusion I would like to thank a few special people that have gone out of their way to help make this weekend a reality. The first two people I would like to thank is my coach Paul Tetreault who designed a training schedule for me to follow, and Doctor Scott Dresden from Wisconsin who will be one of my guide runners in both marathons. Next I would like to thank Chad Johnson and Nathan Thompkins who will also be my guides this weekend. Lastly I would like to thank my mother and step-father, Ray and Michele Burdick for all they did to make this weekend possible as well as for all they do for me every other day of the year.
For anyone who would like to learn more about my races or Team Pisano they can go to my blog at http://teampisano.blogspot.com/

Ready To Roll

THE QUEST FOR 50 MARATHONS FOR TEAM PISANO CONTINUES!

Where: ON SATURDAY, Team Pisano is Meeting at 951 AQUIDNECK AVENUE, IN MIDDLETOWN, RI AT 7 AM AND ON. FOR UPDATES OF PISANO'S PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE DAY CALL 401- 255-6177.

ON SUNDAY, THE MEETING PLACE IS McCook Beach Playground in Niantic (see map)
Walking distance to Main St. Niantic Shops for food etc.
Suggest you come in off 156 (rocky neck) due to closure of Main St. Niantic
When: Sunday October 22nd 12:30 pm
(P.S. Time may be off a little, Jay may be tired because he is doing the Newport RI marathon Saturday as well!!)
How: Jay has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair. He pushes himself backwards with his legs.
Why: Only Jay could answer why he does this to himself!!



SUNDAY'S Race Day Updates: Call Randy @ 860 287-6440 for Jay’s progress on the course if you need to get time narrowed down better.

For More Info: http://teampisano.blogspot.com/

http://mysticcountrymarathon.com/