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ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A year ago, retired Rochester Police Sergeant Brett Sobielaski ran dozens of marathons toward his goal of running 26.2 miles from Florida to Rochester on his “8 States for Maz: The Humanity Tour,” designed to bring public attention to the murder of Rochester Police Officer Tony Mazurkiewicz and support the family left behind.
“Hundreds of people who never met Tony honored his sacrifice and hundreds of people from eight states donated to a family they'd never met. The magnitude of the humanitarian act that was there was incredible,” Sobielaski said.
When Sobielaski reached Rochester, hundreds, maybe thousands, including Officer Mazurkewicz's wife, Lynn, and their children, joined him for the final few miles.
“When you give, you realize that in the end you get back far more than you put in. In my case, I got much more than I gave. It really changed my life,” he recalled.
As his body got used to not running marathons every day, his mind and heart kept reflecting on the experience, so he decided to put pen to paper.
“Writing this made me feel so good. I laughed a lot, I cried a lot. All those emotions were real and raw,” Sobielaski said.
It's something he thinks others might learn, just as Lin endures each day without her husband, and Sobielaski endures each day running marathons.
“Get through today. Living with chronic pain is hard, especially for people who have suffered from addiction or the death of a loved one or chronic pain. Just get through to tomorrow. And tomorrow, get through that day and get through the next day,” he advised.
So what's next for the man who's run 50 consecutive marathons?
“Next year I'm going to the Sahara Desert. There's a race. I have to run for six days across the Sahara, stay in a Berber goat tent at night and carry everything on my back. The only thing I'm given is water,” Sobielaski said.
Sobielaski has previously swam 32 miles across Lake Ontario and run a 155-mile ultramarathon.
If you're interested in Sobielaski's book, “8 States for Maz: The Humanity Tour,” it's available to purchase now on Amazon. All proceeds will go to the Mazurkevich family.
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