Spotlight - Phil Warren

Each week we will be picking members to spotlight to tell their Alzheimer's story and why they are running in this year's New York City marathon. Check in each day for new updates on who will be spotlighted and get to know your teammates...(each person is picked at random)

If you would have told me ten years ago that I would be preparing for my third marathon, I would have probably questioned your sanity. I struggled with asthma through most of my early life and thus was not a very active person. When I was prescribed new medications in college, I was finally able to get into shape. At the time I didn't focus on running because I hated it, mostly due to the fact that I could barely run a mile without a lot of pain. I slowly got into better shape, shedding 20 pounds by the time I graduated, but I still preferred a game of basketball over a run.

When I started my career, I had several co-workers who were runners and somehow they talked me into doing my first 5k in 2009. Not wanting to embarrass myself too much, I started a training program and was able to complete the race in a respectable time. One vivid memory of that race is being passed 2.5 miles into it by a woman pushing a double jogging stroller. At that point I did question whether or not running was for me, but I pushed on and ran the same race the next year in a much better time. I was starting to get hooked and decided to push myself to run longer distances. In 2011 I ran my first half-marathon and then decided to take it to "11" and ran my first marathon in 2012.

My first experience with Alzheimer's was when my great uncle was diagnosed. At the time I was too young to fully understand what was happening , but it was sad to see him slip into such a state. Several years later it was my grandfather who was diagnosed. Our family helplessly watched as a loving and cheerful man was transformed into a confused and irritable person. My grandmother made such sacrifices to care for him for several long years before he was placed into a memory care facility. It seemed like such a cruel trick to a have a physically healthy person be stricken with the loss of their memories and functions. These experiences left me with an understanding of how debilitating this disease is and how painful it is to watch a loved suffer in such a way. Currently my wife's grandmother is in the early stages of a disease that I am all to familiar with.

I am excited and proud to be running with Athlete's to End Alzheimer's. It is a great way to  honor the memory of my grandfather and to raise awareness for the Alzheimer's Association. I hope that through my effort and that of thousands of others, we will find a cure for this disease in my lifetime.