Saturday Spotlight- Chris Mozer

Chris Mozer – Physically 51 yrs old. Mentally? 12.
Occupation – Ruler of the Universe

Yay………I get to be Warrior Of The Week!! Now, what to write about?? The Cliff Notes version of my life would be birth/school/work/married/divorced/retire/run Gee, writing was easier than I thought. I think I could be the next Hemingway….. but I think I should expand on each life event.

I was born on November 9th 1963. I was born two months prematurely. That was the first time that word had been attached to me and it hasn’t been the last (see what I did there?). Born in Huntington Hospital. Yes, I’ve been in this town my entire life!! The story goes that my mother wanted a tree trimmed and wouldn’t wait for my father. So, at 7 months pregnant, she decided to do it herself and fell out of the tree. After my birth, my mother said she didn’t want to see me at first because she wasn’t sure I’d live but I guess I beat the odds.

Spent Kindergarten, 1st grade, and 2nd grade at Washington Elementary School. Transferred to Woodhull Elementary School for 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. Went to Finely Junior High for 7th, 8th, and 9th grade and finished up at Huntington High. Bonus fact: when I went to Huntington High School, smoking was allowed on the school property in what was called “the commons area.“ School always came easy to me. I never cracked a book, rarely studied for tests, and plagiarized like a madman!! My mother was always pushing academics. I was always nervous when report cards came out. My mother was not a big fan of getting anything less than A’s and B’s. I remember bringing home my first C on a report card. It was in 7th grade and it was for science. Was told to bring it up to a “B”…..and I did. By 11th grade, I knew I had no desire to go to college. I could never find anything that interested me enough that I wanted to do it for a living. My mother still recalls me telling her and my father, “I’ll go to college if you want but it’ll be a waste of money.” Graduated in 1981 with my Regents diploma and never looked back. Hey….when did Elementary School become Primary School and Junior High School become Middle School?

I have been working in one form or another since 7th grade. Started delivering Pennysavers. Moved to delivering Newsday door to door until I graduated. Those were the good old days when kids actually delivered the papers instead of adults in cars. Newsday cost $1.70 for the entire week. Customers would give me $2..00 and let me keep the change as a tip. It was a decent gig. And the Christmas tips were huge!!

After I graduated in 1981 and all my friends were enjoying their summer, I went directly to work for New York Telephone. Yes, graduated on a Saturday and started working 40 hour weeks on Monday. God Bless nepotism in New York Telephone. My father worked for New York Telephone and he was able to pull some strings to get me in. Sometimes I don’t know whether to thank him or curse him for it. I first started working in Brentwood and was bringing home $165 a week. For a teenager of 17, this was like hitting the jackpot. I changed job locations more times than the company changed it’s name (New York Telephone/Nynex/Bell Atlantic/Verizon). Worked in NYC, Nassau County and finished my last 10 years in Suffolk County. Tossed in the towel in 2012. Although it was a job and not a career, I am fully aware of how lucky I was to have the job. Had hoped to stay for 36 years but got into a little mischief and decided it was better to retire than get fired. I am now working at Target. Target isn’t Verizon. They actually want 8 hours of work for 8 hours of pay!!! But…it’s only a mile from my house and it’s an cushy job. I work in the backroom and lift things up and put them down. It’s like a dream come true cause I always wanted a job with the least amount of responsibility. Planning on staying there until the house sells or my child support ends.

Married in 1989. Separated in 1999. Divorced in 2013, Don’t want to spend too much time on this subject. Only good thing to come out of my marriage were the births of my children. Alex just turned 23 and Kim will be 20 in November. Love them and missed watching them grow up on a daily basis but I did the best I could with the alternate weekends the courts gave me. And that’s all I want to say about that!!!!!!

And now…..RUNNING!!

I was always the shortest and skinniest kid in school. I Got picked last constantly for gym. When i didn’t want to participate in baseball, the coach replied, “why, son? It’s OUR sport.” I remember thinking two things. First, i wasn’t his son. Second, he left out apple pie and Chevrolet to go along with baseball. Needless to say, gym was not my favorite course. Hell, it took me years to figure out why football teams wanted a 1st down!! It’s odd how the universe decided to make me a runner. I never did any exercise. My past time activities were Nintendo, smoking cigarettes & weed, and eating junk food. One night while watching “The Biggest Loser” and smoking, my ex-girlfriend (she who shall not be named) decided to take up running. To be supportive, i decided to take it up, too. Started with a run around the block. Don’t recall how i found out about races but i signed up for the Jana Piccola 5k in 2010. ran it in 27:28. It was harder than I thought and I remember wanting to die after I crossed the finish line. It was there that i saw people getting medals for their age groups. I became obsessed with getting one of my own. Did the same 5k a year later and earned my first medal. From there, it was a natural progression to 10k’s, half marathons, and fulls…with a 50k thrown in for fun..

I had always heard about the Selden Hills. In my mind, I pictured meadows of rolling hills. Boy, was I wrong. Made it out there in 2014 and I loved it. I love every run at the hills. They never get any easier. But more than the miles, i enjoy the friendship and company of my fellow runners. They have taught me how to be a better person. They’ve also taught me to be a faster runner. Shoot…you’d get faster if Rick Secor and KC Brett were in your age group and…….I’ll be adding Jeff Pinkosh soon!! The “Run For The Hill Of It 10k” in August is going to be very interesting!!

I don’t know what my running future holds for me. I had thought after qualifying for Boston and doing the Caumsett 50K, i’d slow down and rest on my laurels. But somehow, i keep finding new goals. The Greenbelt 50k is on that list as well as a possible 50 miler. I am hoping to run a full Ironman, too.. After those goals, what other challenges can I find? I may just have to run to Mars.

I am still selling my home and look forward to what the future holds for me. Do not know where I will wind up but I look forward to the next phase of my life. To be free of mortgage payments and be financially secure with nothing but free time on my hands is something I almost want as much as a sub 20 minute 5k!! Notice I said “almost.”

Emotionally, it will be rough to leave my hometown. But I have to face my fear of the unknown. Who knows what I’ll find elsewhere.

Hope I didn’t bore anyone. Left out the times I got caught shoplifting, a 3 month cocaine binge, car accidents, etc. But I didn’t want my halo to be tarnished.

Please check in Monday for another installment. In the meantime, I have to get ready to run Northport’s Nautical Mile. Hope to see some of you there. And look at the good side…..the race will be over before you become exhausted.