Ridger ready to run third marathon

Kelly Shoemaker, in an undated photo, with Horace Ashenfelter, the
former Olympian and steeplechase world-record holder.

Borough resident Kelly Shoemaker is out to prove something as she prepares for her third NYC Marathon.

Having run in the 2016 and 2017 races, she had planned to run in the 2020 event, but the pandemic and ill health prevented that.

“I had to defer in 2020 because I had breast cancer,” she told The Glen Ridge Paper. “But I’ve no cancer now. In a nutshell, this shows me I’m healthy. The pandemic was also tough on my family. It’s something to come out of that and show perseverance. It’s good for everybody. I’m liable to be a little slower; there’s water under the bridge.”

One of the pleasures of being a long-distance runner in Glen Ridge, she said, is that she gets to train in beautiful surroundings close to home.

“I like going up hills and seeing homes nestled in the landscape and seeing Manhattan in the distance,” she said.

She is probably not alone in that assessment. According to Dan Murphy, the race organizer for the Ashenfelter 8K, a Thanksgiving Day tradition here, 16 Glen Ridge residents finished the 2022 NYC Marathon. He figures 20 residents are in the race this year, scheduled for Nov. 5.

Shoemaker, 53, grew up in the Pennsylvania Poconos and started running in her mid-40s. A director of product design for Paramount +, her first race was in 2014, a 5K , outside Philadelphia. The event benefited a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict who is a quadruple amputee. Her brother-in-law, a Marine, encouraged her to run.

“The veteran was there,” Shoemaker said. “It was a heart-felt event. The money went to make his home more accessible.”

Also, her children were little at the time and this race gave her a reason to get back into shape.

“It was a coping mechanism for me, as a mom with a full-time job,” she said.

Besides the friendly push from her brother-in-law, Shoemaker said her next-door neighbor inspired her to run. This was Horace Ashenfelter, the namesake of the Thanksgiving Day race and the U.S. Olympian who set the steeplechase world record at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He died in 2018 at the age of 94.

“At 90-something, he would run by my house,” she said. “He’d run when he had to mail a letter; no procrastination. His actions spoke volumes. One step at a time does it. Mind-set is very powerful. If you think too much, you might not get out there. If you weigh yourself down with negative thoughts, it’s much harder.”

Shoemaker has competed in 5K, 8K. 10K and 10 mile races, as well as half and full marathons of 26.2 miles. She saved all her race numbers and has 88 of them.

“I signed up for as many races as I could,” she said. “With the adrenaline, I thought I could do this. And it’s easy. All you need is a pair of shoes and an open mind.”

Sometimes while training, coming upon a scenic area, she will take a photograph and later use it as the basis for a watercolor painting. Last year she sold greeting cards with Glen Ridge scenes.

Shoemaker qualified to run in the upcoming NYC Marathon. To do this she ran in nine New York Road Runner Club races and volunteered to help out in a tenth race.

Her best time for a marathon, 5 hours and 15 seconds, was at the 2017 NYC Marathon.

“That’s not fast,” she said. “But I hope to run under six hours again this year.”

After cancer treatment, Shoemaker did not want to even walk around her block. But she started training by walking the family dog, Olive, a yellow labrador. Gradually,
the walks became brisk walks and then light runs. In September, she ran a race with the odd-sounding name of Racefaster Half Marathon, from Hackensack to Glen Rock.

“If you can get faster as a runner, great,” Shoemaker said. “But it’s about the journey. My oncologist wanted me to run two miles every other day. It helps with the side effects of the medicine.”

She is aware that other runners have overcome breast cancer and was reassured by this. She said there was something “nice” about breast cancer not being an everyday topic.

“I’m healthy now because it was caught and treated,” she said. “There’s so much good stuff out there. People should be checked.”

She hopes her children will see in her a symbol of perseverance.

“They see this running as ‘mom’s thing,’” she said. “It is my thing. But I want to show them I’m healthy and strong and mindset makes a big difference in what you can achieve. I’m good to go.”