In the Spotlight: Stern Center Alums Run in Mad Marathon

by Laurie Caswell-Burke

   From left to right: Alums Stephanie Hackett and Doug Rumsey pose with
   Board member Will Billings and Stern Center instructor Pam Billings at the 
   2013 Mad Marathon finish line.

In less than three weeks two Stern Center Alums will be among 1000 runners and walkers persevering up and down the magnificent hills and valleys of the Mad River Valley. Stephanie Hackett and Doug Rumsey are eager for other alums to join them on Sunday, July 6th for what is known as the “World’s Most Beautiful Marathon.” At least 30 additional runners and walkers are “running/walking for a cause” to support the Stern Center scholarship program. Every year the Stern Center offers over $130,000 in scholarship dollars to students who need services. 

Doug Rumsey returns for a second year traveling from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where he works in advertising. He is excited to run in Vermont, his birthplace, where he grew up in the Burlington area. Training an average of 35 minutes a day, running on roads and on the beautiful Florida beaches, often with his dog Jake, he is ready for the Mad Marathon relay team. 

“The Stern Center has been my rock for over 35 years- it’s a place I call home. Running in this marathon is a small token of my way of giving back to an organization that has been my rock, a place that is always there for me,” he said. 

He is busy fundraising with an ambitious goal of raising $2,000.