515 ... 515. 515, It's a big frigging number! That is the number of Road Races Fran ran and competed in. A testament to enduring pain, exhaustion, and pure Will. Fran took up running at the age of 38 and it became a passion, which lead to an obsession. Some of my fondest memories with my Dad are when i used to ride my bike as he ran. His races included 10Ks, 5Ks, 1/2 Marathons, a 24 Hour relay, The inaugural 7-mile Bridge Run, and the Bay to Breakers in San Fransisco among others. Fran ran 25 Marathons, including those in Miami, Minneapolis/St Paul, Washington DC, Chicago, Honolulu, and the site of the original marathon in Athens Greece.
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| At the Site of the original marathon. Running the Athen's Marathon |
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| One of Fran's proudest achievements, was in 1980, as part of The Energizers team from FPL in a 24Hour Relay!! With great teammates including Chuck Gainsford, Al Skipper, John Crane, Mike Braid, Dave Douglas, and Chip Drobney. (Thank you John Crane for this great photo!) |
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| Fran's Custom Made jacket made from actual Race number he had worn in over 100 races |
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| A Fantastic Moment. Competing in and finishing his last race at the Age of 71 with both his Son and Grandson |
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| The back of Team Marinelli's Shirts for the inaugural Jewfish Creek Bridge Run, Courtesy of the last Chance Bar! |
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| Fran's last race, at age 71. Always a competitor. |
Please feel free to add your comments and remembrances of Fran at the bottom of this page in the comments section!
I just found out that Fran passed away. My sympathy to his family. I met Fran thru running with FPL. We had many races together. He was always very encouraging. I spoke to him several times a year, mostly around the time of the NYC Marathon and the Boston Marathon. We would talk about stuff that happened during our races. I remember doing a nighttime 10k race in Weston at Christmas where we were given jingle bells to put on our shoes. Around mile 3 my shoe began to flop around. The jingle bell had cut thru the shoelace. Fran used to tell me one of his training tips for getting faster was to run from power pole to power pole ...I have dedicated 2 poles on my training course to Fran. I name these my Fran poles........Jeanie Burgess
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