Marathon Man
Trimble
County native
Andrew on the run
He
is running back-to-back
marathons in memory of late mom
By
Janell Oliver
Contributing Writer
(May 2012) – Aric Andrew always considered himself
athletic. With a lean build and a natural spring to his step, it wasn’t
unusual for the quiet architect from Luckett & Farley Architects
in Louisville, Ky., to be seen running outdoors three or four times
a week. He particularly liked to run during nice weather, usually a
couple miles at a time. That was his healthy routine.
But the idea of training for a marathon, of pushing himself 26.2 miles
in one grueling, heart-throbbing, pavement-pounding go, only occurred
to Andrew in February of this year. Now the former resident of La Grange,
Ky., and Trimble County native is planning to participate in two marathons
within weeks of each other.
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Photo provided Aric
Andrew |
On April 28, Andrew ran the Kentucky Derby Marathon, and
on June 3, two days after his 50th birthday, Andrew hopes to travel
across the country to complete the San Diego Rock-n-Roll marathon.
That’s a lot of mileage for a novice. But Andrew’s stride
is motivated by a cause: raising money for the cure.
“I lost my mother to cancer in February,” said Andrew. “It
happened very suddenly. I’m running in honor of her memory and
to celebrate my father’s 10-year anniversary of surviving his own
battle with cancer.”
His father, Dudley Andrew, still resides in Bedford, Ky., where Aric
grew up and attended Trimble County High School.
The idea came to Andrew after a co-worker approached him shortly after
his mother died. Because Luckett & Farley Architects lost a couple
of employees to cancer last year, a man by the name of Phil Gambrell
decided to form a fundraising team.
“I’m an engineer and my nature is to fix things,” said
Gambrell. “Of course, every one in the office was saddened by the
loss of our co-workers. It seemed like fate that I happened to be sitting
in a barber’s shop just before Christmas when I heard one hairdresser
trying to convince another to join her team, a running team,” said
Gambrell.
“Team in Training” is a group within the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society known for training people for endurance events, such as marathons,
in exchange for raising money for the cause.
A group of 12 co-workers from Luckett & Farley Architects joined
“Team in Training” with intentions of participating in either
a half marathon or a full marathon and securing sponsorships in an effort
to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
On March 31, the team participated in Papa John’s 10 miler race.
But the team from Luckett & Farley ran six miles before the Papa
John’s race even began. Since the first of the year, the Luckett
& Farley team has raised nearly $20,000.
Like Andrew, Greg Buccola also finds his participation in “Team
in Training” very meaningful.
“I am very fortunate because I was diagnosed with testicular cancer
when I was 19 years old. Luckily, two surgeries and 12 weeks of chemotherapy
later, I was cured. My cancer was only curable because of the research
that has been done in the past. And that’s why it’s important
that we continue to raise money for research,” said Buccola.
While some of the Luckett & Farley staff members have dropped out
due to injuries, Andrew is still training strong. Of the co-workers,
Andrew is the only one attempting back-to-back marathons.
“Aric is flat amazing,” said Gambrell. “His body must
be made for running. We have people in our group who have completed
between 20 and 30 marathons and Aric beats them all. Without a doubt,
he the leader of our pack.”
“I’m actually surprised by how well I’ve been training,”
said Andrew, who runs five days a week. His father is flying with him
to San Diego to wait for him at the finish line.
In his early years as an architect, Andrew worked in Oldham County.
In addition to designing the Covenant United Methodist Church on Hwy.
146, Andrew also designed the Kavanaugh Life Enrichment Center in Crestwood.
He is now working on the new softball stadium at the University of Kentucky.
• To sponsor Andrew, visit: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ky/rnr12/aandrewtzq#My-Fundraising-Page.