The Review

Issue date: 10/23/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Courtesy of Newark Post The inaugural Main Steet Mile was held last Saturday morning.

John Horne woke up on Saturday morning with a nervous feeling in his stomach. Horne, a participant in Newark's first Main Street Mile, knew this race would be challenging for him but he was excited to get on the road.

"I think its fun to watch somebody with one leg run," he said.

John lost his right leg to bone cancer at the age of 15 and uses a prosthetic limb. Though running a mile may seem easy for many runners, John said this one-mile stretch would be difficult for him.

He said a three-kilometer or five-kilometer race would be too difficult but running a mile is realistic.

Using a prosthetic leg would be challenging for anyone, John said. In terms of running, he said he was worried his sweat might make his prosthetic leg slip or that his left leg would quickly tire.

"I'll be looking forward to seeing the sign of The Deer Park, that's for sure," John said.

The Main Street Mile was organized by Nic DeCaire, the owner of Fusion Fitness Center on Main Street.

DeCaire said the first-ever Main Street Mile drew between 150 and 200 people, who were divided into four different groups - men's elite, women's elite, men's open and women's open.

He said proceeds from the event went to the Newark Police Department's K-9 Unit. DeCaire said he wanted to give back to the unit because he felt they were an important part of the community.

John and DeCaire have been friends for many years. When John opened his prosthetics shop in Newark, DeCaire said John visited him at Fusion Fitness. It was then John decided to run the Main Street Mile and DeCaire agreed to train him.

"He's always up for a challenge and I challenged him," DeCaire said. "He came through on it."

After the race, John crossed the finish line in nine minutes and 54 seconds. His time was better than he initially anticipated.

He said although he was fatigued near the end, when he saw the stop clock at less than ten minutes, he was pleased with his performance.

"I feel exhilarated that it's over with," John said. "I feel OK. A little winded and stuff, but that's normal."

Running is a new challenge for John, as the Main Street Mile was the first running event he has ever participated in, he said. Though he has gone skiing and skydiving, participating in a race was a first for him.

Continued...

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