For Phil Benson, a lifelong entrepreneur and endurance athlete, it is all about the dream. At 64 years old, having run numerous marathons since Frank Shorter first inspired him by winning the Olympic Marathon in 1972, Phil is about to embark on the physically grueling and mentally challenging task of recreating the Tour de France right here in Monmouth County. The Central Jersey Tour de France will mimic France’s 2,247.5 mile bicycle tour over 23 days during July.
This is the completion of a personal trilogy for Mr. Benson, who finished the 1991 Hawaii Iron Man Triathlon and has competed in over 50 marathons. He says this will be the toughest yet, especially mentally.
“Everyone thinks the Iron Man is tougher, but that’s just one day,” said Benson. “This is true endurance – 21 days of serious bicycling over a 23 day period. Mentally you have to prepare yourself to be on the bicycle seat for 7 hours or more most of those days.”
Why would Benson want to endure this task?
In 1972, Benson was inspired by Frank Shorter to run marathons. Similarly, he was inspired by Julie Moss in the 1982 Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. While in the lead with just two miles to go, Moss became severely dehydrated. She staggered and crawled toward the end of the course, only to be passed moments before finishing by Kathleen McCartney. Moss’s second place finish provided Benson and many others the inspiration to compete in Ironman events.
“I remember as I watched Julie Moss cross the finish line, turning to my wife and telling her that I was going to do that,” said Benson. “I had the same feeling when I saw Lance Armstrong, after battling cancer, return to compete in the Tour de France. At that moment, this became a dream of mine.”
Mr. Benson also became a supporter of LIVESTRONG, Lance Armstrong’s foundation which raises money to help cancer survivors and their families. Both his wife Rene and his father are cancer survivors. Mr. Benson is seeking individual and corporate sponsorship for his tour with the goal of raising $20,000 for LIVESTRONG.
The major sponsor of the event, Central Jersey Bank N. A., will help publicize the Central Jersey Tour de France to assist in fundraising efforts. Branch marquees, statement stuffers and newspaper ads are a few ways the Bank will help seek public support for Mr. Benson’s efforts to raise funds for LIVESTRONG and accomplish his dream. The Bank will also have fundraising initiatives at their 13 branches.
“Phil Benson has been a long tenured, valued customer of the bank,” said James Vaccaro, President and CEO of Central Jersey Bank, N.A. “When he first approached us with this idea we couldn’t help but lend a hand. As a community bank, it is our responsibility to support worthy local causes. This is community-level caring at its finest.”
The Central Jersey Tour de France kicks off on July 3. If you are interested in helping support Phil Benson’s quest to raise $20,000 for LIVESTRONG, visit his fundraising web page at http://fundraising.livestrong.org/grassroots2010/philbenson or follow his training at www.philbenson.blogspot.com. Other companies supporting Mr. Benson are The Peddler in Long Branch, Miles Ahead in Sea Girt and Massage by Olga.
Central Jersey Bank, N.A. is the wholly owned subsidiary of Central Jersey Bancorp, a bank holding company headquartered in Oakhurst, New Jersey, and whose common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global market under the ticker symbol "CJBK". Central Jersey Bank, N.A. provides a full range of banking services to individual and business customers through 13 full-service branch facilities located primarily in coastal Monmouth and northern Ocean Counties.