JOHN LEHMANN
NY Post Online
November 1, 2001 -- Firefighter Mike Tobin plans to dedicate every mile of his New York City Marathon run to a different friend lost in the rubble of the World Trade Center.
There's Mike Fiore - his pal of 38 years whom he met as a first-grader at Staten Island's Sacred Heart Grammar.
There's Jeff Giordano - a board director at the Cornell burn unit who accompanied him on countless fund-raising endurance runs, some more than 100 miles long.
Then there are the 11 firefighters from Rescue Co. 5 on Staten Island - the firehouse he has chosen to receive the $3,000 he will raise from his marathon.
"I'll be running with a heavy heart," Tobin, 44, said yesterday. "I've lost a lot of friends, and anger is a strong motivator."
Tobin, who served with Brooklyn's Engine 241 before he retired last month, is one of five runners taking part in the Five Borough Challenge.
The Foot Locker athletic-shoe chain, a marathon sponsor, ponied up $15,000 and selected a runner from each borough to run the marathon Sunday on behalf of a firehouse of their choice.
The money will be split evenly with $3,000 going to each firehouse.
Tobin is hoping the inspiration of his lost buddies will help him beat his personal best of 3 hours, 18 minutes.
"I'll use what's happened as a motivator for myself," said Tobin.
The other runners taking part in the Five Borough Challenge are Paul Richter, 49, a senior compensation consultant at New York Life, running for Queens and Ladder 137; Paolo Tartamella, 41, sports editor for the Italian newspaper Oggi, running for Brooklyn and Squad 1; Diane Kenna, 36, a vice president at Merrill Lynch, running for Manhattan and Engine 74; and Denise Lohja, 32, graduate student at La Guardia Community College, running for The Bronx and Ladder 13.
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