Man Will Run Marathon To Honor Memory of Cranberry Isle Resident
And Raise Money For Injured Camden Boy
BAR HARBOR—Dan Leonard is running the MDI Marathon this weekend with the body he has, in honor of a brother he’s lost, trying to raise money for a boy he’s never met, Ezra, son of Brenda Cayouette, of Camden, who was in an accident earlier this fall.
Dan’s late brother-in-law William Jeffrey “Jeff” Weisbruch met Dan’s sister on Mount Desert Island when she was attending the College of the Atlantic. Jeff was living on Cranberry Island at the time.
She was a single mother raising a baby while attending school, and when she and Jeff met? They fell in love.
“Jeff came to be the father figure for her then five-year-old son,” Dan said.
They got married on MDI a little over twenty years ago, in a spot overlooking Somes Sound. This Sunday, Dan will run by there along with the other marathoners participating in what Runner’s World called the most scenic marathon.
“He then took a job as the doctor on Vinalhaven Island in Pen Bay, where he and my sister welcomed a second baby boy in the months leading up to Jeff's death,” Dan said. “He died on his 42nd birthday. We miss him dearly”
Back in March of 2005, Jeff left behind Caroline Leonard, and his sons, Field, 7, and Addison, 19 months.
Jeff was a true renaissance man—a brilliant humorist, a carpenter, a gardener, a landscape painter; a chef, he had a masters in creative writing as well as a medical degree. Jeff did it all. He even interviewed the residents of Great Cranberry Isles, documenting their stories, making sure that their memories and legacies still burned brightly.
“He was simply the best,” Dan said.
Jeff was also a marathon runner—an accomplished one—but he wasn't able to run the MDI marathon before his passing. He wanted to.
“As I am now the age Jeff was when he died, I am going to run it for him. I've only run one and am not so great, but it doesn't matter. I am doing this with the body that I have, as he wasn't able to do with his,” Dan said.
Dan realized he had an opportunity. It could be about Jeff, about the grit and determination it takes to run any marathon—but especially MDI’s hilly 26.2 miles—and it could be about something and someone else, too. It could be about connection and hope and help and support, four values that were part of what guided Jeff’s life.
“I also realized that I might be able to raise some money for someone in need along the way, so I asked my sister, who might need money,” Dan said. “She showed me the link to a boy in Camden who has been badly hurt in a recent bike accident, and is in Boston Children's Hospital waiting to be moved to a rehabilitation center. There is a GoFundMe to raise money for his family to stay by his side, and I believe Jeff would love for his memory to benefit a child in need. So, here we go!”
And, so here Dan comes to run and remember and help in Jeff’s honor.
Dan is flying out of Los Angeles, where he lives. He’s running the marathon on October 20. He’s nervous, but excited.
“I have two babies and am just finding the time to get in this training so that I don't fail mightily on what is a TOUGH course, a 1,400-feet elevation gained is serious business, but I have been seeking out hills and low mountains to train and yeah, here I come!” Dan said.
The money Dan raises will help Ezra’s family stay with him. After his accident, he travelled via LifeFlight to Portland, Maine, where he fought to survive. His family is trying to stay by his side, which means missing work.
He’s at Barbara Bush hospital, still recovering.
Dan has two goals, three if you count finishing the marathon, he said. “Jeff will be remembered, his legacy will burn brightly on that day and beyond, and we'll raise a few bucks for Ezra and his family in their time of need.”
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
Ezra’s GoFundMe
QR code to the GoFundMe
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