NJ Parkinson’s patient running a marathon every day for 100 days

What guy in his 70s diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease would decide to run 100 marathons in 100 consecutive days?

A Jersey guy, of course.

Meet Dr. Larry Grogin, a 71-year-old New Jersey native who looked at a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and basically said, “Yeah… I’m gonna go run across the country now.” Not metaphorically. Literally. Sneakers on pavement, 26.2 miles at a time, every single day.

Most of us feel like heroes if we survive 30 minutes on a treadmill. Maybe an hour if we’re really feeling ambitious and the playlist is good. Grogin? He wakes up and knocks out a full marathon. Then does it again the next day. And the next. He’s trying to do it for 100 straight days.

That’s not a workout. That’s a war.

His journey started March 24 in New Jersey and will take him all the way to California — roughly 2,600 miles — all while battling a disease that literally affects movement.

Grogin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019, and instead of slowing down, he doubled down on the idea that “movement is medicine.”

So every painful mile, and he admits it hurts and he’s already exhausted, is raising money and awareness for others dealing with the same thing.

According to NorthJersey.com, He’s already raised $150,000 and continues to push forward, one grueling step at a time.

He has friends traveling with him by more comfortable means than running to keep watch over him. He has a support vehicle that trails him. He takes hourly supplements. People are checking on him.

Yet this is scary. This would be a crazy undertaking for a perfectly fit person let alone someone who is a septuagenarian and has Parkinson’s.

If you want to support what he’s doing you can donate or follow his journey here. 

Even if Larry Grogin doesn’t make it all the way, he’s more of a hero than we can ask for. He shows us that even when life throws something brutal at you, you can still move forward.

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Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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