By Nathan Duke
A Bayside nurse will run her second New York City marathon this fall to raise money for cancer research and this time she is bringing along another woman from the community whom she is mentoring.
Anna Giallo-Uvino, 42, a registered nurse at Manhattan’s Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, will be one of an estimated 42,000 people to run in the ING New York City Marathon Nov. 1. The race will be her fifth marathon overall and her second in the city following her participation in the 2007 run.
“My dad passed away from cancer in 1988 and I had a very dear friend from high school who passed away from cancer,” she said. “So there was an impetus for me to do something this year for a cancer charity.”
Giallo-Uvino will run this year with Fred’s Team, a cancer charity that was founded by the New York City Road Runners Club’s Fred Lebow, who also founded the marathon, in 1991 and raises money for cancer research at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Giallo-Uvino is also training Bayside resident Kalli Sanicola, 32, who is a math teacher at a Port Washington, L.I., school. The two women became running partners after their children played on sports teams together in the community.
“My grandmother was recently diagnosed with breast cancer,” Sanicola said,“so I’m running to support her. I’m a little nervous, excited and anxious. Besides chasing my kids, I try to run a decent amount each day. I used to run for recreation, but Anna got me into running the race. She’s my mentor — I call her Yoda.”
Giallo-Uvino, who is also a member of the New York Road Runners Club, said the pair have been running 20 to 25 miles per week along the Cross Island Expressway in Douglaston, as well as through Fort Totten and under the Throgs Neck Bridge.
“Each day I watch my patients battle this disease with determination, strength and dignity,” she said. “They are my inspiration and are what push me through the grueling parts of the marathon.”
Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
