Jack Gabor raising money for Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
Cazenovia teen Jack Gabor is preparing to run the Lake Placid half Ironman race in a few weeks, and is raising money the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation as he does it.
Gabor, 18, who will be a senior at Cazenovia High School this fall, ran his first full Ironman race in Lake Placid this past July (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run), and for this upcoming race he decided to merge his passion for the sport of triathlon with the desire to help others.
“I joined the Multiple Myeloma Research foundation team because I love the sport of triathlon and, although I have no personal connections to this particular disease, I figured if I can do what I love and help a good cause it would make this all the more special,” Gabor said.
Multiple myeloma is the second most common form of blood cancer and has one of the lowest five-year relative survival rates of all cancers.
He has pledged to raise $2,500 for the Sept. 10 run, and is currently at $835.
Gabor became interest in the sport of triathlon in sixth grade, after watching his uncle, Ted Volz, a former Cazenovia resident, compete in one.
“I thought, ‘I kind of want to do this,’” Gabor said. “So I came up with a plan to start training in seventh grade and do a full Ironman by the time I graduated high school — and I did.”
Gabor competed in his first triathlon in 2013, at age 14. Last year he ran in the USA Triathlon National Championship in Omaha, Neb., and this past July 23 finished the Lake Placid Ironman in 12 hours, 30 minutes.
“It was amazingly fun; it flew by,” he said of the Lake Placid Ironman. “It took 12-and-a-half hours but it didn’t feel like it … it was a great day.”
Gabor said that although being on a bike or running for hours at a time sounds crazy to people who do not do it themselves, once he finds his pace he settles in “and nothing really bothers me.” Although he admits that being on a bike for six hours is “not always the most enjoyable.”
When he’s not competing in triathlons, Gabor runs cross country for the high school team in the fall, does ski racing in winter and last year ran track and played baseball for the high school. With his senior year coming up next month, Gabor said he is leaning towards attending the Air Force Academy after high school and studying engineering.
“I’m so happy for Jack for accomplishing this huge goal he had for himself. The Ironman is the pinnacle athletic achievement for a triathlete,” said CHS boys cross country coach Jason Hyatt. “But I am most impressed by Jack’s commitment to his training more than anything. It took a lot of hard work, dedication and discipline to make it to that starting line. And that was what made him successful. … Any person, athlete or not, can be inspired by another person’s story and I think Jack is writing a good one.”
Anyone interested in donating to Gabor’s fundraising efforts can visit his fundraising page online at endurance.themmrf.org/IMLP703/johngabor.
To see what racing for team MMRF is like, visit youtube.com/watch?v=2fekEfht29o.
