Member of the Month: Rudy Afanador!

If you like stories where hard work and determination pay off, then BTC member Rudy Afanador's story is one for you. Over the past several years he has gotten exactly what he deserves, having become one of the top marathoners on Long Island and one of the best ultramarathoners in the nation.

He first started running in 1991 when Jose Mendez and softball buddy Radhames Delgado, both BTC members, lured him into racing. Never one to aim small, his first race was the 25K Cross Island Marathon, which was then followed by many local 5Ks and 10Ks. After his friends challenged him into completing two rigorous Long Island marathons, he decided to get more serious about his increasingly gratifying pursuit.

With tutoring from Jose and advice from Runner's World articles, Rudy turned to hills and distance to become more competitive, and became acquainted with his two favorite training routes: the Adirondack 10K loop in Selden and Smithtown's River Road. Jose also got Rudy to join the Bohemia Track Club, where he met more runners and made more friends. His marathon times sank to below three hours.

With no additional training he ran two-thirds of a 100 mile race relay (67 miles!) for a first place finish in his first ultramarathon experience, and returned the next year to trailblaze a second place at 50 miles. His astonishing top ten performance at the nationally-renowned JFK 50 Miler later in 1996 increased his determination and his training distances, which grew to 35 and 45 miles on weekends.

This year alone he's completed between 8 to 10 marathons (he's lost count), as well as four ultramarathons. The marathons included three on consecutive weekends (Steamtown, Hartford and Mohawk), where he set two personal records at 2:38 and 2:37. He won the 50 Mile Long Island Endurance Challenge by nearly an hour, placed tenth in the Vermont 100 Miler, first in his age group at the 100K Nationals in Pittsburgh, and seventh at this year's JFK 50 Miler.

What's left? Rudy is looking to break 2:30 in the marathon, six hours at 50 miles, and hopes to place better in the 100 milers. By finishing in the top three at the next 100K Nationals, he would be chosen to represent the United States in the World Class 100K Championships in the Netherlands.

Although he personally enjoys competition, especially against the best, Rudy mostly loves to run with friends. Regardless of the pace, he enjoys the social atmosphere and the cooperative effort to push each other toward improvement, as well as the post-race comraderie and post-training breakfasts (and can he drink coffee). Even when running alone on dark winter Sunday morning excursions, he finds joy in the solitude of empty roads, and in the opportunity to concentrate and focus on technique.

Hobbies include softball, handball, boxing and the World Series. He loves to travel with the family, whether on vacation to Puerto Rico or Florida, or to marathons like Boston and Hartford. He often ventures on day-trips to explore new marathons. Given the chance, he'd like to take his family to the west coast and try the Western States 100 Mile ultramarathon.

Rudy is well-known in running circles as "Wrong-Way" Rudy for having embellished the last three Long Island Endurance Challenge courses. He currently owns more running shoes than he can count, and has a unique running story of having been attacked by a cow. This Long Island Rudy is often a difficult breed to spot on the streets, but can usually be heard shouting "Ai-yai-yai!" up ahead in the distance, often after smoking yet another unsuspecting road runner. He stresses that people should not be intimidated by distance when running, and that focus and training make for a happy athlete.

After spending his first thirteen years in Puerto Rico, Rudy has lived mostly on Long Island ever since, both growing up with his mom, brothers and sisters, and now with his wife Luz and son Jonathon. His typical weekday training schedule includes getting up at 4 am, running 10 miles before work, 5 miles at lunch (at six minute pace no less!) and adding one or two loops of Adirondack on Wednesdays for good measure.

For a runner who often logs more miles in a week than we do in a month, Rudy Afanador is an appropriate choice for our very first Member of the Month.