Stories And Inspiration

Fifth-grader leads Dad to love of running, better health

Submitted by Anonymous on Sep 10th 2013 - 10:00AM. | Perma Link

Timmy and Mike Hassett, early GO FARTimmy Hassett running for Northwest

Hassetts with age group awards
(From left): Timmy and Mike Hassett in an early GO FAR race; Timmy competing on the Northwest High cross country team; Mike, Timmy and friend Alyssa Torres (also a GO FAR alumna) with age-group awards at a recent Greensboro 10K.

Fifth-grader Timmy Hassett came home from school one day with a flyer about GO FAR, saying he wanted to try the program. His parents took heart, knowing Timmy was one step away from giving up on sports after a disappointing experience with youth football.

To support his son, Mike Hassett agreed to accompany Timmy on one- and two-mile weekend runs, as the GO FAR curriculum suggests. But those runs were no small feat for a man who had never exercised, was 50 pounds overweight, and smoked cigarettes. Father and son ran the culminating GO FAR 5K at the end of the season, and both fell in love with the sport.

Timmy went on to run cross-country for Northwest High School; he now attends UNC-Charlotte. Mike never looked back — he's run at least one marathon each of the last five years, including qualifying for and running the prestigious Boston Marathon.

“GO FAR has been a tremendous life-changing, positive force in my life," Mike Hassett says, "and it helped Timmy become a more confident and conditioned athlete. It’s a program that should be in every school.”

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