News

Oshkosh siblings break world marathon record

By Jaye Alderson
Special to The Compass

	RECORD HOLDERS: The Weisse family, including mother Janet Weisse, gather for a photo at the conclusion of last Sunday's Community First Fox Cities Marathon. The 13 Weisse siblings completed the 26.2-mile run, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. (Dick Meyer photo)

APPLETON -- Ed and Janet Weisse of Oshkosh gave birth to 14 children. On Sunday, Sept. 23, 13 of them broke the world record for most number of siblings to complete the same marathon. They crossed the finish line of the 26.2-mile Community First Fox Cities Marathon in Appleton-Neenah-Menasha.

But the other sibling, Peter, who died of brain cancer at the age of 3 in 1968, was very much a part of the group and the focus of the day as his siblings ran in his memory and to raise money for cancer research.

"It gave the event more purpose," said Ben Weisse of Madison, 12th of the siblings and instigator of the family event. "Whether we get the record or not, who cares? There are 14 of us. We always include Peter in the number. He's my brother."

Brother Greg, the oldest, agrees.

"This is to remember Peter," Greg said. "He passed away the day I graduated from eighth grade. I think my brother, Nick, said it best. We are at a time in our lives where we are all celebrating marriages, first Communions, baptisms. This is Peter's day. We're having a celebration for him - that's what makes it pretty cool."

Peter died two months before Ben was born, but "I will meet him in heaven," Ben said. "(The race) connects him to me since I haven't met him face-to-face yet. Mom is very proud of my family for including my brother Peter."

On Monday morning, Chris, the third oldest and fourth-place finisher among the siblings, said the race had been grueling.

"When I finished, I was hurting," he said. "I was just relieved to be done. That 26.2 miles - I didn't have enough respect for it."

The runners among the siblings finished first. Those who were walking the course were much further behind, and there was concern for Ben and Bernadette as the eight-hour deadline approached.

"They were two miles out with 20 minutes to go," Chris said. "There was a period in there we were doubting we'd get the record. Ben came in at the end. He was the instigator but was hurt in this training. He said, 'I forced everybody into this, I've got to do it.' They did have to jog some to make sure they got done.

"Eight hours is a long time for them to be out there, but they had each other to lean on," added Chris. "My son, Brian, ran with me the whole time from start to finish, so I had him to lean on. That was pretty special."

Chris said setting the world record is great, "but I think what's cool is how excited everyone else is. 'Go Weisse family!' 'Good luck with the record!' It was unbelievable how many people were cheering for us, most of them complete strangers. That part was really neat, having so much support from the community."

The close-knit siblings, who now range in age from 54 to 33, include:

Greg Weisse, Oshkosh; Theresa Peterson, Hartland; Chris Weisse, Oshkosh; Martin Weisse, Morgantown, W.Va.; Tony Weisse, La Crosse; Margaret Hughes, Madison; Nick Weisse, West Bend; Ed Weisse, Brookfield; Anne Prihoda, Brookfield; Peter Weisse, deceased; Paul Weisse, Appleton; Ben Weisse, Madison; Bernadette Weisse, Oshkosh; and Alex Weisse, Calabasas, Calif.

They grew up in Oshkosh, where Ed Weisse was a professor in the education department at the UW-Oshkosh for 25 years and a long-time member of the board of education for the Green Bay Diocese. The parents remain members of St. Jude the Apostle parish (formerly St. Vincent Catholic Church), and the children all attended Lourdes Academy.

Their traditional family way of ending grace at each meal is singing "Amen" from the film "Lilies of the Field."

"It's an emphatic 'Amen,'" said mother Janet.

Last Thanksgiving, Ben's son, Jonah, was randomly reading the Guinness Book of World Records when he noticed that the record number of siblings to complete a marathon was five. Ben thought that would be easy for the athletic number of his siblings to top. But further research found that the Irwin family of Ireland had broken that record with 12 siblings in the 2005 Dublin City Marathon.

"We could still do it, but everyone in the family had to participate," Ben said.

That was no easy accomplishment. Ben sent out e-mails to the clan to gauge interest. Only Anne had finished a full marathon. While some of the others ran, not all of them were athletic or in the best of shape at the time. Some declared they couldn't even finish two miles, much less 26.2. Others were dealing with injuries and other challenges.

Between running and walking, each would have to finish the course in less than eight hours.

"I worded it that 'this would have been cool,' " Ben said. "I thought there was no way everyone's going to buy in."

But in the way of big families, as sibling after sibling signed on, no one else wanted to be the one to let the family down. By Christmas, all were on board and started to train seriously for a marathon. They kept in touch with bantering e-mails, sharing their pain, their training strategies and their love for the family. Ben sent regular motivational e-mails.

Eventually, six spouses and two children of the siblings also joined the competitors.

"The thing that's beautiful to me is all my kids didn't want to do it, but they didn't want to be the one that didn't do it," Janet said. "That I'm proud of. They're doing it for each other. That's love. Some of them are athletic, but some of them are just doing it anyway. They were excited to do it and be part of the family thing. I tell everybody they're just a great bunch of people."

Bernadette said the common goal has brought them more together as a family.

"We e-mailed back and forth a lot more than we would have," she said. While she didn't have an exact training regimen, she did put in three to four sessions a week since Christmas.

Ben had been a runner previously but started getting serious about building up the miles.

Paul, who is Peter's twin, had completed 11 half-marathons or better, but never a full marathon.

"If I was going to do one, what better time (than this)?" he said. "The world record would be neat to get, but I'm just excited about Mom and Dad, how joyous they are about it and proud. There's one of us that's not here, and we're spending time honoring that. We think of Peter while training."

And by the day before the race, everyone was "gung-ho," according to Janet. They were reveling in the excitement of being all together for the first time since their parents' 50th wedding anniversary five years ago.

"Even if they don't get the record, it's been wonderful," said Janet, who met her children at the finish line. "One son competed in athletics in high school and had camaraderie with his teammates. But he said that this time it's with his siblings, and that's better yet."

"It's been a great journey," Chris said. "We couldn't have done it without (their mother). She's the one who brought us up the way we are. The record's nice, but this summer with our training, and talking via e-mail, telephone or getting together, that's the best I got out of it; the camaraderie with all my brothers and sisters. It's nice to be able to stay in touch a little more than usual."

"It was a good way to do another family thing," Greg said. "It's been a neat family affair."

And no one forgets that the family includes 14 children. Although some of the racers were delayed in traffic - due to the Green Bay Packers game - on the way back from Appleton, several of them and both parents visited Peter's grave and voiced their memories after the race.

"It was good thinking about him," Chris said. "I thought more about Peter this past month than I did the past 25 years."

Janet said her big family is a blessing for herself and her husband.

"My husband and I keep telling each other how rich we are," she said.