NYC Sentinel

David Fraser trains for the 2009 ING New York Marathon

By Lynsey Chutel

David Fraser will spend today pushing himself backwards in his wheelchair, using his right foot to power the 26.2 miles of the New York City Marathon. He’ll do it for the personal challenge, but also to honor his wife, Nora, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer three years ago.

“The first year I did the marathon I did it for me,” said Fraser, 42. “And now every year I do it, I do it for my wife. If my wife can overcome cancer, then a marathon should be no big deal for me.”

Fraser has cerebral palsy and has been in a wheelchair since birth. One of nearly 300 disabled runners participating in the race, Fraser will have four guides to give assist him.

Fraser trains an average of 10 hours a week after work, often with his friend and guide Michael Oliva. On the weekends, he spends a full working day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., training in Central Park, covering a distance of more than 2o miles. Even after a long days’ work on a chilly damp fall afternoon, Fraser was in the park with his guides preparing. Marathoners with disabilities run the same course as able-bodied runners, but are accompanied by an able-bodied guide.

Oliva insists that Fraser only really needs him to carry his gear and keep him company. This year, Tricia Williams will also be his guide since Oliva will be running the marathon on his own for this first time. She will be joined by Sonja Kerlen and Meggie Singh, who will also support Fraser from start to finish. Once Oliva has completed his own race he will come back to join Fraser and complete the race with him. The pair met when Fraser was training for his first marathon in 2007.

Williams herself has run the marathon four times. Since she is four months pregnant this year, she has signed on as a guide with the Achilles Track Club for athletes with disabilities. Two more guides will join him on the course.

It is important that Fraser stay dehydrated and energized throughout the race. His favorite race snacks are Propel Enhanced Water and raisin bagels. Williams, who is a chef and holistic nutritionist, has been trying to put Fraser on a healthier diet before the race. She will, however, be carrying his favorite Milky Way candy bars on the day of the race.

“I’m his chef for the day, packing his meals and carrying his water,”said Williams. “Anything I can do to make the day easier.”

Fraser says music sustains him during his training for the race. He owns five iPods and carries three at all times, in case a battery runs out. His playlist reads like an ecelctic catalog of music, with everything from opera to blues, from Cindy Lauper to AC/DC, with a sprinkling of Vanilla Ice and 4 Non Blondes. Tupac’s gangster raps keeps him motivated during training.

Fraser believes that music is a universal communicator, showing how insignificant the differences are among people.

“My wife and I are complete opposites,” says Fraser. “For a disabled black man to marry a Hungarian Jew, that can tell you about the type of person I am. I believe that I am here to teach people about other people.”

Fraser and his wife met at Long Island University’s Brooklyn campus 19 years ago. They married three years later and now live in Brooklyn with their three sons: David Jr., 15; Christopher, 10; and Nicholas, 8.

An accountant for Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State in Midtown, Fraser says his disability has never been an obstacle to him.

“When I was growing up I was never treated as if I had a disability,” says Fraser. “Whatever kids did in the neighborhood, I did it along with them. I know that I have a disability, I know I do. But I don’t live it.”

Today’s challenges will start early, with the trip to the start of the race on Staten Island. Fraser will have to take public transportation from Brooklyn to Manhattan at 3 a.m. On the course itself, the up-hills put a strain on his ankles and he is prone to tumbling out of his chair. Still, according to Oliva, no one takes a fall as beautifully as Fraser does. And while the up-hills are strenuous, when the course changes to a downhill, Fraser spins his chair around and flies down.

Rain might also bring an added difficulty. “When the ground is wet I can’t get the traction I need,” says Fraser. “I have never done it in the rain. But I know it will take me much longer.”

Fraser intends to complete the race in less than eight hours. This would mean shaving an hour off his previous time. Professional wheelers finish the race in less than two hours.

Oliva and Williams think his goal is overambitious; just finishing is an accomplishment in itself. Oliva says he will never forget the first time Fraser completed the marathon.

“He collapsed at the line and kissed the ground,” says Oliva. “That was pretty powerful.”

Finishing the race with David Fraser