Bergen Firefighter Running 48 Miles To Support Children's Charity: How To Support Him

LYNDHURST, NJ — A Bergen County volunteer firefighter and counselor is raising money for the children of first responders, while training for a two-day running challenge.

Victor Roveda is participating in the "4x4x48" challenge, which consists of running 4 miles every four hours, a total of 48 miles, over the course of two days (48 hours).

Roveda has been a volunteer firefighter for the Lyndhurst Fire Department since 2018 and works as a student assistance counselor at Union City High School.

David Goggins, an American ultramarathon runner, came up with the 4x4x48 challenge and encourages people to raise money for charity.

Roveda is raising money for First Responders Children's Foundation. He said it was important to him to select a charity that benefited the children of all first responders, not just firefighters.

This foundation supports children of first responders across the country through scholarships, bereavement and mental health resources, and activities.

Roveda, a licensed counselor, said the mental health support "made it an easy choice" to select that charity.

Roveda's GoFundMe page can be found here. He will complete the challenge from March 4-6. As of Friday morning, the page was more than halfway to a $5,000 goal.

Running is something Roveda does often, averaging 20-30 miles per week.

"Last year, a few friends and myself ran this challenge just to see if we could do it," he said. "We didn't raise any money, it was more for fun."

He said training this year has been somewhat difficult. As the dad of two girls under 3 years old, finding time can be a challenge.

"All my training starts at 4:30 a.m.," Roveda said, except for Saturday — the run begins at 4 a.m. Saturday and is his longest of the week.

Roveda said he partnered with Break the Mold Fitness in Lyndhurst, where he and his group will start their first run. He will also run at Retro Fitness in North Arlington, creating two separate 4-mile courses for the day.

He has a group of people who will do the entire challenge with him, and said other supporters are welcome to keep the group company.

"It's not easy trying to find people to run every four hours for 48 hours," he said. "Anyone that would like to join the challenge and show support can walk, bike, hike, do push ups, jumping jacks, or any form of exercise every four hours, for 48 hours. Our fire department isn't that big, so I don't have anyone besides myself that is up for the entire challenge."

The group will meet at Break The Mold Fitness (601 Riverside Ave., Lyndhurst) on Friday, March 4, at 4 p.m. for their first run.