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Volume 10 • Issue 16 • April 24 – April 30, 2015
Why I Run A local’s Journey to the Boston Marathon by Neil Benjamin Jr. Saratoga TODAY BOSTON — For one day, he was only a number. Norm Levy, a 48-year-old Saratoga Springs resident, has spent the last half-year running in blustery conditions, pushing his body further than it has gone before in an attempt to prepare to run in his first Boston Marathon. On April 20, all the preparations came to fruition, as Levy – bib No. 30483 – completed the 26.2mile trek in and around the city of Boston in what he describes as “brutal” running conditions. “I expected to finish about 32 minutes faster, but I was elbow-toelbow for about the first six miles,” he said. “Combine that with the weather
– driving, sideways rain, 35 mile-perhour winds – and that really cost just about every runner time.” His time of 4 hours, 27 minutes is impressive for your average runner, but Levy’s stands out not because of his time, but why he chose to run in the biggest footrace in the country. Levy, born in Hartford, Ct., had run in two marathons prior, simply to attempt something he hadn’t done before. For the Boston Marathon, Levy ran for charity, to date raising $20,120, which is the 20th-highest amount raised by anyone this year. He initially pledged to raise $10,000, making his current total 201 percent of his goal. His team, Team Eye and Ear from See Norman Levy pg. 8
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Opting Out by Norra Reyes Saratoga TODAY
SARATOGA COUNTY — There was a time when it would have been
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Photo by MarkBolles.com
unthinkable for a student to refuse to take a school exam, but according to grassroots organization United to Counter the Core, about 2,654 Saratoga County students opted out – with full parental consent – from the NYS Standardized English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments last week and this week, respectively. In the Capital Region, two districts reported more than 40 percent opted out of the ELA, but that number has risen this week with more districts hitting that number and one reporting closer to 70 percent opting out. See Opting Out pg. 18
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