Matt Scarfo performed what he called a ‘stupid human trick.’
Scarfo, the owner and president of Full-Time Fitness in Morristown, has been like every other gym-starved person stuck at home amid the coronavirus shutdown — looking for ways to stay active.
But as uncertainty about when his business, as well as other small businesses in New Jersey, can reopen, Scarfo wanted to bring an awareness to the plight of those owners still finding a way to cope with their doors closed.
He saw on April 28 that there were protests being held in Trenton on the same day the Blue Angels flyover was occurring, and decided this was the right moment for that so-called trick.
That morning, Scarfo ran approximately 90 kilometers (or about 60 miles) from his Morristown gym to the Trenton War Memorial.
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“I ran it for the small business owners like me who felt like they were left out to dry, as the heads of the households who are barely holding it together emotionally, and especially financially," Scarfo said. "It’s for those who spent years building a dream and having it frozen with an empty promise.
“Just like everyone else, I’m mortally afraid of losing everything. I’m at risk of losing everything in this business that I’ve spent over a decade building and a career I’ve spent over two decades building. It’s a frightening time for everyone.”
There has been a growing debate over if more businesses should be allowed to reopen. Gov. Phil Murphy last week said he is considering allowing more New Jersey businesses to reopen with either curbside service or other social-distancing guidelines, adding social distancing has been a reason the coronavirus has not spread further.
“But you look at the progress we’re making, that’s because people are staying home," the governor said on Wednesday. “They’re not going out. And that’s the sort of still guiding principle here.”
“We do know social distancing is probably the best weapon we’ve got. If we can do that responsibly, you can assume that’s on the list of things we want to do. ... Stay tuned."
Scarfo made his trip in under 13 hours and leaned heavily on Google Maps (input with no tolls and no highways) to guide the way.
The idea came to Scarfo a week prior to putting feet to pavement and admitted, after not speaking about it leading up to his run, that he finally decided to run while at the dinner table with his wife and three children the evening prior.
“I wanted to do something, whatever it was, and this just falls in my skillset and it was crazy enough for some people to pay attention to," Scarfo said. "I’m running for them, for the people that feel like they don’t have a voice. I wanted to carry those burdens of everybody with me down to Trenton so that people know that there’s someone out there doing something. Even if it’s inconsequential. That people are doing something to bring awareness to this.”
Even arriving nearly two hours late to see the Blue Angels couldn’t dampen his spirits.
“It was relief because my feet were killing me," Scarfo said. “It was the one thing I couldn’t get past (mentally) and my feet started hurting about 60k in. When I got there, there was no more protest and everyone had already left. There was no one there but I felt good because I proved to myself that most of those limits are self imposed.”
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Andrew Koob may be reached at akoob@njadvancemedia.com.