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Banner file photo
Truro resident Stephen Kovacev, who is HIV-positive, completed the Boston Marathon in 5 hours, 50 minutes this year. |
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Kovacev goes the extra mile
By Kevin Mullaney
Banner Correspondent
Call him Iron Man. Truro resident Stephen Kovacev has been HIV-positive for 22 years and was diagnosed with AIDS over 17 years ago, yet through it all he has managed to push his body to its limit, competing in the Gay Olympic games and just completing his 12th Boston Marathon.
Kovacev finished this year’s marathon in five hours and 50 minutes.
“I’m holding steady,” he said. Now 54, Kovacev’s last marathon under five hours was in 1997. His best times were closer to three hours.
Kovacev works out all year long and credits a strong “will to live” through spirituality and good nutrition for his longevity. “Exercise is important even if you’re not dealing with health challenges,” he says, adding that taking medications makes him more susceptible to heart failure and diabetes – all the more reason to keep fit.
In a press release he credits his “mom” Amybelle Olatunji (wife of famous drummer Baba Olatunji) and Beatrice, his Yurba godmother. He met them back in the 1980s while he and his partner, Kevin, owned an organic raw foods restaurant in NYC called Manhattan Live. Kevin died in Provincetown on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1, 1990. Kovacev’s second partner, Michael Kerwin, succumbed to AIDS in 1995.
Kovacev now takes Fuzeon, an AIDS drug that must be injected twice a day. It can’t be injected in the same spot and can leave hematoma lumps that are painful and make his running stride challenging. Added to this difficulty are the side effects of the other five drugs he takes twice a day. Side effects include joint pain, stiffness and tingling and numbness in extremities.
Nutritional supplements have come a long way since Kovacev started running marathons. There are supplements for endurance, and power gels are handed to the runners along the course. “Great energy,” he says. “I wouldn’t get there without them.” He says he feels his energy wane, then bounce back throughout the 26-mile run.
“My body bounces back quickly,” he says of the recovery from the marathon. “It thrives on it after all these years. Post-marathon, he spends a lot of time catching up on doctor appointments. He dedicated this year’s run to “universal healing” and says that this year’s epiphany was the waning awareness of AIDS. “Everyone used to be so super-aware,” but, he says, this year people did not know the meaning of his red ribbon. “Awareness of AIDS is totally off the radar.”
Kovacev raised $1,100 so far for this year’s run, to support the food and transportation programs at the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod, programs that are being hit hard by rising fuel and food costs. He thanks Dr. Frank Campo, Tim McNulty and The Lobster Pot, Spiritus Pizza, Bradford Natural Foods and Jimmy’s Hideaway. Anyone wishing to make a donation can call the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod at (508) 487-9445.
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PHS Sports
Nauset Sports |
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May 1st, 2008