Dan Cody is an unusual breed, to be sure. The 1976 graduate of Andrew Warde High School didn't take up running until he approached his 50th birthday, and now the Milford resident is preparing to run in the Fairfield Half-Marathon later this month."I started running about a year ago," Cody told me via email today. "I was exiting the Yale gym and saw a flier for the New Haven Road Race. I figured that I could run a 5k, but a 20k? Well, that would take a little training. After all, I had four months to get in shape, so I signed up for the 20."
In addition to the New Haven 20 kilometer run, Cody also completed the Fairfield Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, although there is no official record of him actually participating in the five-mile race. He's to blame for that.
"I was going to run it with my friend Jim Dolan, but I didn't get registered," he admitted. "Moments before the start of the race I found Jim, and he pulled a hamstring the week before and couldn't run. So, I ran with Jim's number. I might add that it was Jim's best time ever. Just kidding, Jim."
So, what are some of the challenges he faces while competing in a road race? "Let me first state that I'm really not running," emphasized Cody, pictured in the 1976 Flame yearbook. "A better description would be a perpetual series of trips and stumbles until I fall over the finish line."That being said, the most challenging part for me physically was starting to run in my fifties," he admitted. "Some days when my mind says 'go,' my body says 'no.' I, as I'm sure many of our classmates, have accumulated a few injuries in the past 33 years. Those injuries do come back and haunt you, so there is a certain amount of discomfort when I run."
Cody, who received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Connecticut State University, is looking forward to the Fairfield Half Marathon, which began in 1981. More than 3,000 runners flock to the Jennings Beach area each year for the annual running of the race, which takes the runners past stately mansions as well as scenic beaches and bridges through Fairfield, Southport, and nearby Greenfield Hill.
"There is also a lot of anxiety with running a long race," Cody continued. "In the first mile there is the anxiety of, 'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' Then you get into a rhythm. Granted, my rhythm is a slow, methodic beat of a bass drum in a geriatric marching band, but a rhythm nonetheless."And then when you see the last mile marker the anxiety creeps back in. However, now it's about finally passing this 80 year old guy that I've been trailing after for the last 12 miles, and here is my last chance!"
Cody, who works at Yale University in New Haven where he's involved in video and television production, did some traveling after high school graduation. "After Warde, I went to college and left UConn in '79," he told me. "From there I worked a variety of jobs and did some travel. One summer I hitchhiked to California and back and another I spent traveling in Europe and the UK and down to Tangiers."
Today, Cody is enjoying his work at the Ivy League university. "Yale has offered me many opportunities in the past 22 years which has greatly enriched my life," he added. "I have done a fair amount of travel and have met many interesting people over the years at Yale. I've been residing in Milford for the past 25 years and I have a 19 year old son, Daniel, who is a sophomore in college."
Good luck to Dan Cody as he prepares for the running of the Fairfield Half Marathon on Sunday, June 28. I'm sure all of his former classmates are rooting for this "seasoned veteran" to finish the race. When he does, he'll be a winner in our book!
Paul
Please sign the AWHS Guest Book.
Visit the Andrew Warde High School Gift Shop.
Watch the AWHS 1976 vintage "film".
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