Dennis Giza does not do anything halfway. When he decided to join Front Runners New York three years ago, he mailed in his dues before even arriving at Rutgers for his Saturday fun run debut. After nervously participating in his first-ever NYRR race in November 2003, he went on to race 29 times in 2004 (more than any other Front Runner that year), everything from the 2.5-mile Downtown Dash to the NYC marathon, suffering the tundra-like temps at the Frostbite 10-miler and the soupy heat of the Bronx Half. You name it; he was there. Giza operates full throttle in world of vices as well. When he used to hit the bars regularly, Giza could be found closing up the East Village several nights a week. And back in the day when he smoked, the first cigarette of his two-pack day graced his lips before his feet touched the floor in the morning.

It's of little surprise, then, that after Giza successfully tackled his 2004 inaugural NYC marathon in a time of 4:28:13, he set off in dogged pursuit of breaking the four-hour barrier. Running a tad shy of his goal under the wilting heat and humidity of the 2005 NYC marathon, Giza re-strategized, running slightly fewer races, mixing up his workouts by adding in some speed training and picking a flatter and faster course. The formula proved a smashing success for Giza who ran a 3:55:44 in Chicago this October for an astounding 17-minute PR. Interestingly, the 8:59 pace he sustained over the 26.2 miles matches exactly the pace of his debut NYRR race back in 2003 but that was a mere 5K. (In other words, You've come a long way, baby! )

People discover running at different times in their lives and for very different reasons. The director of an after-school special might tie Giza's kicking his 25-year smoking habit in the butt with his inspirational emergence as marathon man. But Giza, who really only began donning his New Balance 991s in his mid-forties, does not take himself that seriously. I continue running, he says, because I am now afraid to stop. I now depend on running to keep my life the way I want it. And Giza is not referring to VO2 max and increased lactic acid threshold. "If I begin cheating on smoking," he notes, "I start feeling pudgy okay, okay, pudgier. I depend on running to bring my life into balance." And much to Giza's inebriation-loving surprise, running has proven a great antidote for his hangovers. Put that tidbit in your Lifetime movie of the week.

As a veteran of other gay organizations, including a stint in ACT UP during its early 90's heyday, Giza anticipated that joining a club like Front Runners wouldn't be all shits and giggles. For Giza, some insecurities were immediately unearthed. "It's a long-running organization with established cliques and groupings," he explains. "And that can be off-putting to a first timer and it was to me." 

And so Giza played the part of the mysteriously laconic new guy for a while before fully drinking in the Front Runner Kool Aid. Perhaps it was being part of the prize-winning masters team at the 2005 "Easy Does It" 10K relay that helped warm his heart to the club. In addition to that relay, Giza also raced two terrain-twisting legs of the inaugural 60-mile "Need for Speed" relay from Bear Mountain through Westchester County this past June. 

Still, for Giza running is a solitary pursuit. "When running -- even in a race wearing one of my four Front Runner shirts -- it sort of is just me out there trying to beat me and my previous times." With that end in mind, Giza has signed up to train indoors at the armory this winter along with a couple dozen of his teammates. Having met his marathon goal, Giza now looks to test his fast-twitch fibers on the 200-meter banked track and discover what he's capable of at shorter distances.

He's playing it coy about concrete racing goals, but if history is any guide, Giza will be a speed freak in no time at all. Smart money says to look for him at the Front Runner track meet (Friday night, March 2nd -- it's never too early to mark your calendars), four-milers and 5Ks this winter. Of course, he can also be found, Bud Light draft in hand, at club First Friday happy hours. Now that's team spirit.

Random Data:

Fondest FRNY Memory: "The ride back from the Need for Speed relay as several in our van, myself included, violated the law against driving with open alcoholic beverages."

Favorite Race Shirt: The Labrecque Classic (loves the faux wick)

Favorite Spectator Cheer: "A woman near Marcus Garvey Park, at mile 22 of the NYC marathon, stepped right in front of me and, seeing the name in marker on my shirt, screamed I love you Dennis! at the top of her lungs."

Best Cultural Event of 2006: Kiki & Herb on Broadway

Pageantry Lore: Won Honorable Mention Blue Ribbon in upstate NY children's beauty contest
Surprising Fact : Carried a lady bug bauble in his pocket as a good luck charm during Chicago Marathon.