Senior Ben Vajdos ran across New Hampshire the weekend of September 14, 15 and 16 as part of a charity event to give back to the community that has given him so much. Before the race, Vajdos was approached to discuss this.

Q– Why are you running across New Hampshire?

A– Well, I work for a summer camp in the White Mountains called Camp Calumet, and one fundraiser we do every fall after the summer camp season is over is this relay across the State of New Hampshire from the top west corner to the bottom. It’s like a pledge drive, for every mile I run, someone donates an amount of money. For me, it’s another way to give back to the community that I have up there.

Q- What is your camp raising money for?

A- We will use the money to help send inner-city kids, and kids with less financial means, to camp, to a place in the White Mountains where they can get the summer camp experience. This year’s goal is to raise $110,000 with our 72 runners.

Q– How many miles will you be running?

A– I will be running a total of about 19.5 miles, spread out into a couple of legs. The longest leg I will have to run is eight miles, so as long as I can do that, I should be fine for the rest of the race.

Q– What are you going to be eating while running that much. Any specific diet for you?

A– As far as food goes, plain bagels, peanut butter, granola bars, trail mix, apples, mini-muffins, and Gatorade.  

Q– How have you been training for this event?

A– Well, distance is key. I’ve been running once every four hours or so, on the order of about seven or eight miles. Sometimes finding time to run was hard though, because of my duties as a camp counselor this summer. I had to stay on top of the kids, and when I did have time off, a lot of the time, it was too hot to run. I didn’t really crack down on my training schedule until I got back.

Anthony Zinno, Staff Writer

Senior Anthony Zinno is a staff writer for the 2018-2019 Colonel. He is an avid member of the music and drama programs at LHS. Outside of school, he could be found watching “The Flash” or going on hikes.