Alumni newsmakers: David Gavoor ’90

by Deborah Leigh Wood

Going the extra mile
David Gavoor ’90 came in 64th out of 1,007 at the second Annual Hope & Possibility 5 Mile Walk/Run this summer in New York City, but what he’s most proud of are the funds he raised to help train 32 of the race’s other participants: disabled veterans who recently returned from Iraq and are undergoing rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Most of the veterans are amputees, who ran the race with a prosthetic or on a hand-cranked bike.

“The vets are excited about this program. It’s changed their lives,” says Gavoor, who became involved in the initiative after meeting Dick Traum, the first amputee to run a marathon. Traum is the founder of the New York City-based Achilles Track Club, which is working with the Walter Reed vets. The Club makes it possible for disabled people to participate in long-distance running through support, training and technical expertise.

Gavoor, who works in institutional sales at Beekman Capital Partners, helped raise money for the race, which takes its name from I Am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility, written by Trisha Meili, current chairwoman of the Achilles Track Club. Gavoor also raised funds for veterans who participated in the New York City Marathon on Nov. 7.

“Disabled vets are at huge risk for, among other things, psychological, drug and alcohol problems,” Gavoor says. “We get them to be part of a team and to set goals.” Their biggest reward was finishing the Hope & Possibility race, he says, but they and their families also were treated to a weekend of shopping, dining and other activities. The highlight was a workout in Central Park with members of the Achilles Track Club’s New York chapter.

Harvey Naranjo, a certified occupational therapy assistant who works with the Walter Reed vets, says he’s thrilled that people such as Gavoor are keeping the program up and, well, running.

“It’s a great rehab tool and morale-builder for the vets, and very motivating for those who haven’t but might participate,” says Naranjo. “Those who ran talk about it all the time at the hospital. They ran as a group; they’re there for each other.”