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There’s nothing easy about running a marathon. From the months of training, to the day of the race, 26.2 miles is no joke. Up until that celebratory beer at the finish line, completing a marathon takes grit and determination–even in top-notch running attire. Now, picture this: a marathon runner, trotting alongside everyone else in the race, but all the while he’s clad head to toe in a 45-pound fireman’s suit. Please meet, Fireman Joe.
Fireman Joe isn’t your average fireman, and he certainly isn’t your average runner. At 47 years old, Jose Zambrano has saved lives as a firefighter in the El Segundo Fire Department for almost a decade, while simultaneously saving the lives of sick children by completing over 80 marathons–and counting. Each mile Fireman Joe runs helps raise money and awareness for both the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Does it get more heroic than that?
Zambrano moved from Venezuela to the United States in 1989 when he was just 18 years old to go to an international school in San Diego. Since then, he’s dedicated himself body, mind, and soul to helping others in any way that he can.
He originally ran marathons without his gear as a way to improve his stamina and endurance, boasting speedy 3 and a half hour race times. But in 2014, he decided to start running for something more important that his PR. That’s when he began running while wearing his suit to raise money for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and honor service men and women who had fallen in the line of duty.
Fireman Joe’s first marathon in gear was not pretty. It took him 7 and a half hours to finish, and he recalls “chafing, blisters, the heat…I never knew it was going to be this painful!” He admits, “I didn’t really prepare myself for it.”
But in true Fireman Joe form, he didn’t give up after that difficult first experience. If anything, it inspired him to train harder for the next one.
“People always say you’re an inspiration,” says Zambrano. “I think it’s the other way around: people inspire me to keep going. And not to give up.”
Now it can take Zambrano anywhere from 5 to 7 hours to run a marathon in his gear, even after rigorous preparation. He trains twice a day: in the morning he runs 3 to 6 miles without gear, and in the afternoon her runs another 3 to 6 miles in gear. He also now knows what to expect throughout the race, from the physical wear and tear his body takes from the suit, to the heat of the suit, to the increasing weight of the suit itself.
“Even if it’s nice and 55 degrees outside or 60 degrees outside,” he explains, “inside [the suit] it’s like an oven.” That scorching heat makes Zambrano sweat immensely, and all that moisture then seeps into the gear, weighing him down even more with each passing mile. By the end of the race, the gear gains from 10 to 12 pounds all in “sweat, water, tears, and pain,” Zambrano jokes. When he crosses the finish line, the gear weighs about 55 pounds.
Though brutally taxing, Zambrano says he focuses on his mission and doesn’t think about the pain. “I just think more about finishing the race, and the bigger reason why, other than myself, which is St. Jude.”
In 2015, Zambrano had a close friend lose his 15-year-old daughter, Anissa, to cancer. In response, Fireman Joe’s motivations expanded beyond the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. As a father of a 15-year-old daughter himself, Zambrano was particularly effected by this tragedy, and decided to make raising money and awareness for cancer part of his platform. His friend’s daughter had received treatment at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, so he teamed up with them and became a St. Jude Hero: a runner who fundraises for the hospital throughout their training as part of a nationwide alliance against childhood cancer.
Fireman Joe’s goals go beyond raising money and awareness for two important organizations. He also wants to motivate others to give back too. “Get up there and do something for somebody else,” he says. “Inspire to inspire.”
Support Fireman Joe’s next marathon here!
Also published on Medium.
