Bronx high school president running 101 miles to raise money for athletic program
NEW YORK -- A Bronx high school president is going the extra mile to raise money for the school's athletic program.
Cardinal Spellman High School President Dan O'Keefe is making his way around the school's track in Edenwald one step at a time.
O'Keefe, 57, started his journey at 4 a.m. Friday and pledged to run 101 miles, CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis reported.
"There's several different reasons, but primarily build school spirit, give the kids a concrete example of when people say something's impossible don't ever listen to them, and you can go out there and do anything if you put your mind to it," O'Keefe told DeAngelis, who joined him for a run.
In 2014, O'Keefe ran 100 miles to fundraise for the school. This year, he's is going an extra mile.
"We're hoping to raise $101,000 for our athletics program. We have 25 sports teams, and it gets very expensive to run those teams," he said. "When you think about uniforms, officials, busing back and forth to games, coaching salaries, equipment, it just adds up."
By 10:15 a.m., O'Keefe completed 124 laps out of his goal of "407 and a quarter" by Saturday morning, which would total 101 miles based on the size of the track.
Students, inspired by O'Keefe's commitment, joined him for a few laps.
"Being a part of something like this, it's special because he's doing this for us," junior Victor Ruiz told DeAngelis.
"I like how he's showing us he does support us and he is behind us through all the steps of the way," sophomore Jay Sanabia said.
"It just sets such a good example for the students, that you don't give up. You don't let obstacles get in your way," said Principal Jeri Faulkner.
O'Keefe is determined to finish running Saturday morning, just in time for homecoming.
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