As a member of WNEP’s Newswatch 16 morning news team, Ryan Leckey has developed a reputation for his high-energy broadcast segments such as “Slim Down For Summer” and “Someone You Should Know.” The former emphasized healthy living and good exercise habits, while the latter focused on everyday people trying to make a positive impact in their communities.
On Sunday, Nov. 7, Leckey will have the opportunity to put both his energetic intensity and his dual passions for physical fitness and social responsibility to good use. As a participant in the ING New York City Marathon, Leckey will run 26.2 miles in an effort to raise funds for Allied Services’ pediatric program, which helps provide crucial rehabilitation therapy for children suffering from such maladies as autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.
“I want to support Allied’s mission, so they don’t have to turn kids away,” says Leckey, explaining why the campaign, called Ryan’s Run, is so important to him. “Allied gets these people together with the right social agencies and gets them on Medical Assistance or other plans out there that will help fund this stuff. Allied even sometimes makes up the difference. ... I’ve heard it from multiple people that Allied’s pediatric program loses more money for Allied than it makes. They’re helping so many kids that sometimes the money’s not there. So if I can do anything to help with that, I’m all for it.”
Mind you, charity isn’t all that Ryan’s Run is allowing Leckey to indulge in. In fact, he says, the opportunity to participate in the famous New York Marathon is like a dream come true.
“It was always on my ‘bucket list’ to run a marathon in general,” says Leckey, who will count the upcoming race as his fifth marathon. Describing the New York Marathon as “the marathon of marathons,” he explains that it is “almost impossible” to get into and describes the way that many runners have to wait years to get selected from an ever-growing pool of hopefuls.
Lucky for Leckey, the New York Marathon committee makes occasional exceptions for the sake of helping out worthy nonprofit organizations like Allied Services. Of course, after the marathon committee gave the green light for Ryan’s Run, then the real work started.
“Lots of training,” says Leckey, with wide eyes and a knowing laugh. “It’s almost like a part-time job. I’ve been running between eight to 11 hours a week since July.”
It wasn’t always that way, though. Leckey is quick to confess that, once upon a time, his own eating habits were, in his words, “horrendous.”
“I was never a runner,” he admits. “I didn’t run in high school. I didn’t run in college. The only place I ran was to the cafeteria.”
But that all changed, he says, when he first started working at WNEP. Around that time, Leckey began to focus on getting in better shape and started running on a regular basis with a group of people. Doing it that way, he says, helped provide him with the encouragement needed to turn things around.
Now, Leckey says he hopes that his own slim-down story will provide similar inspiration for others. That’s part of the reason why he’s tying in Ryan’s Run with the “Fight Fat This Fall” series that he’s currently covering with the Oct. 11 and Oct. 18 broadcasts of “Leckey Live.”
It’s also why those who pledge the $26.20 donation which the fundraising campaign is asking for will receive such health-oriented thank you gifts as an exercise jersey, a pedometer and exclusive nutrition and exercise tips.
When asked why he feels the need to serve as a good role model for people, Leckey points to WNEP’s slogan: “Proud to serve.”
“I feel I have a responsibility to serve Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania as much as I can,” he remarks. He highlights events like Ryan’s Run or meteorologist Joe Snedeker’s annual bike ride — the proceeds of which go to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Carbondale — as examples of the dedication he shares with his peers.
Although he’s the one doing the running, Leckey is adamant that he’s just a small part of a bigger picture. Ryan’s Run, he asserts, is something that everyone in the region can get behind and be proud of.
With this fundraiser, Leckey says his greatest motivation comes, just like when he first started running years ago, from the support of his friends, coworkers and the people in the community who are always willing to offer a kind word or wishes of good luck.
“Those two words, ‘good luck,’ from people you meet on stories, on the street, it keeps you focused,” says Leckey. “It keeps you going.”
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