Most people do not get to run in the New York City Marathon, and usually a mother and daughter do not run in the same race — twice. Liz Scafa of West Windsor and her daughter, Christine, a 2005 graduate of High School North, have done just that. In this year’s race on November 6 they ran at their own pace. Christine finished in 4:29, and Liz finished in 5:01.
Liz and her husband, Dave, have lived in West Windsor for 25 years. She is a CPA and a certified financial planner and he is a CPA and a personal financial specialist. “Our businesses complement each other — Dave handles tax and accounting and I handle investments and insurance,” says Liz. They share an office in Pennington (scafafinancial.com).
Their two adult daughters are Christine and Stefanie. Christine, a 2010 graduate of Fashion Institute of Technology, lives in Jersey City and works at Nordstrom in Short Hills Mall.
Stefanie graduated from South in 2001 and Susquehanna University in 2005. She spent time in Ghana with the Peace Corps and in India in a study abroad program. She received masters degrees in public planning and public policy earlier this year. She works with Americorps in Eugene, Oregon.
Liz began running in the early 1970s. She lived in Brooklyn and her father was a runner. “The seed was planted and I would go running with him,” she says. “It became a reason to spend time together.”
“Christine started running when she was in college,” says Liz. “I wanted to do something with her so I began running again.”
“The most fun is the training,” says Liz. “We work out quite a bit, either at Gold’s Gym or in the gym in our basement.” Since June Christine visited West Windsor often for 15-mile training runs.
“West Windsor is a great place to run long distance with much less traffic than in larger cities,” says Liz. “We would ‘plant’ our water bottles and gels at various places along our route, which almost always included Conover Road and Mercer County Park.”
In 2007 they both applied for the New York City Marathon through the lottery system, but only Christine got in. In 2008 they trained and relatives helped them run together on the New York City fire department team. This year they ran with the New York Road Runners.
This was the second time they ran together and Christine’s third marathon. “She ran her first in 2007 and encouraged me to join her in 2008,” says Liz. “We ran every step together and crossed the finish line at the same time. Aside from the thrill of the accomplishment itself, it was made even better by being together.”
This year Liz and Christine enjoyed a pasta dinner in Hoboken the night before the marathon, slept at Christine’s apartment, and took a car service at 5 a.m. to the Meadowlands. Buses transported the runners to the starting point at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island.
“The excitement on the day of the race is overwhelming,” says Liz. “The atmosphere at Fort Wadsworth is like a carnival with booths giving out food, coffee, water, and other goodies like hats and gloves to keep the runners warm.”
The race began with the sound of a cannon. “Running through the diverse neighborhoods of the city helped keep our minds occupied,” says Liz. “The cheering fans along the route are so motivating and certainly helped us get to the end.”
“This may be the last marathon we run together, but the memories will last forever,” says Liz. Christine has already registered for a marathon in Eugene, Oregon, her older sister’s new home. Liz and Stefanie plan to run the half marathon at the April event. “It’s just an excuse to go out and do it together,” says Liz.
