Name:Wilfredo (Will) Colon
Age:38
Occupation: Sr Programmer Analyst @ Newsday
Married to:Nicole Fariello
Children: Michael 6 yrs & Alexa 4 yrs
Pet: Chewie 4 month Malshi
Good morning Warriors!! I would like to thank Lou for giving me the chance to share with you a bit about me!! I am honored to be part of such a great group of runners!
A bit about myself: my mom and dad met in Puerto Rico while my mom was supposed to be going to College. She was raised in New York City. My father was born and raised in PR and didn’t speak English. Instead of coming back with a BS, she had me! I was born in Ponce, PR. We moved to the Bronx when I was 3. I am the eldest of 3. I’ve got a brother Danny and a sister Mary, who were born in the Bronx. While we lived in the Bronx my mother worked as a Teachers Aid at UCP working with young children with disabilities. My father started out working as a Janitor, but his passion in life was law enforcement. In order to do what he loved he would have to learn English and what better way than joining the Army! He would then later go on to work as a Police officer for the Veterans Affairs.
My parents always looked to improve our quality of life and so when I was in 4th grade we were uprooted from our lives here to move to Puerto Rico. It was a huge change but one that has made me come to learn more about my culture and how to cope with change. I loved being able to bike and skate around our development. We learned to swim and enjoyed it even though I wasn’t the best swimmer. Eventually the time came that we would move back to New York, a change that I looked forward to. I graduated from Christopher Columbus HS in the Bronx. After High School I was fortunate to travel to Switzerland with American Field Services. I was blessed to have a great family who took me in for 4 weeks and instilled in me a passion for traveling and learning of other cultures. Once I started working I did my fair share of traveling. I went to Russia, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. My Swiss family enjoyed cycling, running and swimming. I remember going out on a run through the vinyards of southern France with them and was dying (I was a smoker at the time)
Thirteen years ago I met Nicole Fariello. Our moms worked together and they set us up. I thank God for putting Nicole into my life. She brings out the best in me! We were blessed with Michael and Alexa! After the 2 kids Nicole looked for a way to loose weight. She started walking and jogging. After college I had started to live a sedentary lifestyle and was 50 lbs overweight. I have to admit I made fun of running! Why would anyone go out there and run? What’s the point? I remember Nikki asking me if I would be interested in running a 5k with her and after seeing her run her 2nd 5k (Santa Trot in Patchogue) I decided to try running.
I remember my first run around the neighborhood and it was just like the time I ran with my Swiss host family, but this time I was determined to do this! More on this on memorable Monday.
My journey has just begun and I’m so happy to have you all be a part of it!