Dave Cohn

Dave Cohn has been running for 10 years. He has completed 25 marathons in 21 states and one in Tiberias, Israel. His goal is to complete a marathon in every state which he plans to do by the time he turns 65. He enjoys being out on the trails and feels that running serves as a calming influence. “There is nothing like a good run to get your head on straight”

Dave is president of the flatsoles running group based in Buffalo Grove, IL

http://www.flatsoles.org
and has a few other friends who are running marathons in all the states along with him.

Dave is looking forward to helping Seymour achieve his monumental goal of running the Badwater solo run. His wife of almost 35 years supports his running exploits.

Mitch Friedman

Mitch Friedman is a toxicologist who has been running consistently to maintain fitness for 30 years! (Yes, he started running at a tender age).  At one time he even did a stint as a part time aerobics instructor. 

Nevertheless, his main sports interest has been running.  He started running while working on his doctorate at the University of Texas, where the hot weather was a great prelude to helping Seymour achieve his goal of traversing Death Valley, but I digress.  Leaving the warm clime of Texas for Chicago was difficult but having been raised in Kansas, Mitch was used to the midwestern idea of weather.  He continued his running, purely for recreation, but then got involved in 5 and 10K races where he garnered enough T-shirts to clothe most of Asia.  A friend at work talked him into doing a 10 mile race in Johnsburgh, IL  and that was the start of a quest for longer distance running.  The Racine 10-miler became a regular yearly event and He then moved on to incorporate the occasional Motorola Half-Marathon and Lake County Half-Marathon into his schedule.  Near the end of the last century, he was introduced to the Flat Soles, a group whose name is epitomized by his over-sized flat narrow feet (13 AAA).  He then began running marathons and now having completed 18, has regressed to running half-marathons in the hopes of prolonging his life and running career.

Needless to say, Mitch idolizes Seymour and is amazed at his physical and mental prowess that allows him to accomplish these feats of endurance.  He's looking forward to helping Seymour achieve his goal as part of the team with Dave and John

John Gagliardi

John Gagliardi has been running off and on for 35 years. He's had the good fortune to train under a coach who's a member of the College Track Hall of Fame (who taught him how to train hard), and with a world class track star who represented the U.S. in three Summer Olympics (who taught him how to train smart). He has competed in running events from the 800 meters to the Boston Marathon, expanding his horizons over the last five years to include triathlons, mostly to spare his worn out carcass from the perils of pavement pounding.

During Seymour's quest to complete an Ironman distance triathlon last year, John frequently joined him for open water swim training where he witnessed firsthand (almost always from behind) Seymour's willingness to push himself to his limit and his determination to achieve a challenging goal.

"It's an honor to join Seymour on his 4x135 adventure", says John. "Badwater is an unbelievable challenge, but if anyone is capable of conquering it--while raising money for a great cause to boot--Seymour is that man".