RFH Track Star Runs with COVID-19 Healthcare Hero Fundraiser

RFH’s Bobby Hoye raised funds for frontline healthcare workers on Sunday
Photos/RFH

Rumson Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) senior Bobby Hoye saw a chance to help in the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and he ran with it — literally.

Hoye, on Sunday, appealed to the hearts and pockets of anyone who tuned in to watch him run a marathon to raise money for the Jersey Shore University Medical Center COVID-19 Relief Fund.

Over the course of roughly five hours, Bobby ran 26.2 miles on his family’s treadmill and raised more than $6,000 to support local healthcare workers in their frontline COVID-19 battle efforts. Fellow RFH senior, best friend of Hoye’s and president of the school’s Student Government Association, Peyton Ming, set up the live stream to broadcast Bobby’s run for support on YouTube.

Ming served as the master of ceremonies, chronicling Hoye’s progress, cheering him on, and relaying the well wishes and charitable donations being sent Bobby’s way. Senior Jordyn Osofsky and Junior Jaden Lanfrank also helped in the effort.

In training for an Ironman triathlon this July, Hoye was planning to run the New Jersey Marathon scheduled for April 26. When that was cancelled, coupled with school closures and the state of the country during pandemic, he looked for something to raise his own spirits and boost the morale of those around him. According to Hoye, running the frontliners’ charity marathon felt like, “… an opportunity to do something good, to inspire people and to support our healthcare workers.”

So, Hoye set up a fundraising page and enlisted the help of his best friend to have someone by his side during the run and to coordinate the technical logistics. Members of the RFH community tuned in to watch Bobby’s amazing feat and shared his story and live stream on social media, capturing the attention of local news outlets and Gov. Phil Murphy, a Middletown resident, who mentioned Hoye’s effort in his daily COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday.

Bobby is viewed as a standout among RFH Bulldogs. He is known as an exemplary RFH student in the classroom and a leader in athletics and other extracurricular activities — a teen who embodies “the highest standards of integrity, compassion and commitment,” a release from RFH faculty said.

After playing soccer during the fall of his freshman year, Hoye joined the RFH Winter Track Team and realized that running was his passion (a hobby that he enjoyed in middle school as well).

Since then, he hasn’t stopped running, participating throughout his sophomore and junior years and this year serving as captain on RFH’s Cross Country, Winter and Spring track teams.

But the track isn’t the only sport in which Bobby excels and sets an example for his peers: Bobby is the president of the Art & Photography Club, first violin and vice-president of the Tri-M Music Honor Society, the treasurer of the Environmental Club and the Spanish National Honor Society, a member of the National Honor Society, the Global Impact Club and the RFH Student Ambassadors. He also leads a club soccer team in his spare time.

Next year, Hoye plans to begin a joint five-year program through the honors program at Roanoke College and Virginia Tech through which he will earn degrees in both physics and environmental engineering.

Running, he says will no doubt be in his future regardless of where in Virginia he happens to be.

Here are some highlights of the event …

“Thank you to everyone that came out to the live stream and supported in any way that they did!” the YouTube narrative says. “Here are just some highlights of the live stream if you were not able to watch it. We hope you enjoy and the donation link is still open if you would like to donate!”

As of the video posting, Hoye had raised $5,259 for the cause. The goal was $5,000. The donate link is still open. Click on the video.