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New York Marathon Rookie Runs Against LGBT Hate Crimes

By DNAinfo Staff on November 4, 2010 6:34pm

First time marathoner Jerry Blake is making a big leap — this is his second ever distance race.
First time marathoner Jerry Blake is making a big leap — this is his second ever distance race.
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Courtesy of Jerry Blake

By Tara Kyle

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — For Jerry Blake, who had never run a race before last summer, the dream of kissing another man without fear will help him cross the finish line of the New York City Marathon this Sunday.

"As a gay man in New York, even though it's the 21st century, there are places here in the city where I wouldn't feel safe walking down the street holding a partner's hand," said Blake, a 46-year-old media lawyer. "That's something non-LGBT people don't think about."

At times, those places included the streets of his own Upper East Side neighborhood, where Blake said that while he sometimes felt comfortable with public displays of affection, he was constantly mindful of whose attention he might be attracting.

In order to combat anti-LGBT hate crimes, Blake serves as a board member for the Anti-Violence Project, a Chelsea-based advocacy group seeking to eliminate hate violence in the LGBT community.

He's using Sunday's race to raise money for AVP, and is currently less than $200 shy of his $2,620 goal, according to Blake's page on fundraising site Crowdrise.

While Blake said the idea of running a marathon had always been in the back of his mind, Sunday's 26.2-mile run would actually be only his second race of any distance — in June, Blake raced a 5-miler in Central Park.

"I've always jogged before, but never far or fast," Blake said. "When I first started training, the idea of 26 miles seemed impossible. Running half that sounded impossible."

Since beginning his training regime in April, Blake has completed two 20-mile training runs. That distance left his legs aching, Blake said, but he believed he had the stamina to go further.

"I know I can do it," he said. "I know that I can run 20 miles. And even if I have to walk those last six miles, I'll do it."