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He did it with time to spare. Cardinal Spellman High School Principal, Dan O’Keefe completed his 100-mile run to raise funds for the student sports and activities programs at his school in just under 24 hours, finishing at 5:49 a.m. on Saturday morning. The accomplished ultra-marathoner began the 403.25-lap endurance test on the school track Friday, Nov. 7 at 6 a.m. Along with his family, members of the Spellman community cheered, rang bells and sounded horns as Mr. O’Keefe crossed the finish line at dawn on Nov. 8.
The principal raised some $120,000 and counting, including one whopping anonymous donation of $100,000. The run was widely reported in the media drawing attention from as far away as Raleigh, N.C.
“We’re still collecting,” Jennifer Rivera, Spellman’s vice president of advancement, told CNY. “As of now I feel comfortable saying we collected $120,000 and that doesn’t necessarily include anything coming in the mail. We received over 100 online donations over the weekend. The students were initially challenged to bring in 10 sponsors of 10 dollars totaling 100. They were asked to raise the money in the community, among family and friends and pretty much when people saw the coverage in the media it helped the cause a little more. Every gift, no matter how much, makes a tremendous difference for the programs of our school and we are grateful.”
The Spellman community turned out in force to support O’Keefe’s run despite frosty overnight temperatures. Throughout the day and night, students, faculty, alumni, parents, coaches and even neighbors who had seen the story on local news, stopped by the field, brought food, made donations, and cheered O’Keefe as he completed each lap. Some joined and ran laps alongside the principal who took food and water on the run.
“I constantly challenge the students at Spellman to achieve their limits and beyond,” O’Keefe said. “I tell them to never let anyone say something is impossible.”—Ron Lajoie
