No, Robert Downey Jr. is not running the NYC Marathon. That’s Teaneck’s Iron Man
Editor's note: The 52nd New York City Marathon will be held on Sunday, with scores of North Jersey residents among the 50,000 expected to compete. The Record and NorthJersey.com caught up this past week with two Teaneck men who'll be in the race, both heroes in their own way.
When people see David Roher running, they do a double take.
It's not just that Roher regularly competes greuling athletic races garbed in an Iron Man costume. He also looks eerily similar to Robert Downey Jr., the actor who portrayed the armored superhero in Marvel's blockbuster movies.
He doesn't have jets, but on Sunday, you'll find Roher racing through the streets of Manhattan in his 10th consecutive New York City Marathon. As is his custom, he'll be dressed for the occasion in a polyester version of Tony Stark's bright red and gold suit, a costume that's made him a fan favorite on the 26.2-mile course.
"Almost every child on the street screams out 'Ironman' and wants me to fist pump them, which I have to do. Adults also scream, 'Tony Stark,' which is very charming," said Roher, 55, whose goatee and wavy hair make him a Downey doppelganger.
"As a special education teacher, I'm wired to want to inspire people and make them feel empowered," he said. "Seeing people happy makes me want to work harder. I get a buzz from it."
Altogether, Roher has participated in 11 marathons and − yes − 11 Ironman triathlons in his superhero suit, including a world championship last month. He's also worn it for numerous half-marathons.
He donned the Iron Man get-up for the first time at the 2015 New York marathon, and it's become his racing trademark ever since.
"I always stop to high-five the crowds, and especially the kids."
His best marathon finish was 5:14:04 two years ago. But Roher's not looking to clock in this year at any particular time. His major goal is to be a crowd pleaser, he said.
His running career launched 18 years ago when his father, who is now 91, had a heart attack. At the time, Roher was out of shape and a tad overweight.
"I had never done anything athletic in my life. I didn't even own a bicycle," he said. But his father's health scare got him off the couch. A friend was training for the New York City Triathlon and Roher decided to compete as well.
"I trained for a year, completed the race and I was hooked."
Now he runs, swims and bikes and has become something of an endurance junkie who hasn't missed a workout in nearly three years. He regularly runs from his Teaneck home to his job at a school in White Plains, New York, a 23-mile route.
"It prolongs my life," Roher said. "I enjoy the journey and the feeling of accomplishment."
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He's not the only marathoner who regularly hits the pavement in outrageous fashion. Other New York City Marathon participants have been known to stand out of the crowd of runners by wearing Elvis, Big Bird, ballerina and nun costumes.
Roher was inspired to don the armor after the 2014 marathon, where he noticed runners in costume and thought it was "kinda cool." He knew immediately what he wanted to wear.
"It was an unbelievable experience," he recalled of his debut. "Little kids were screaming 'Ironman, Ironman!' Firemen, sanitation workers. cops − everyone was screaming, 'Hey, Tony Stark! Hey, there goes Ironman!"
He admits that the costume can be cumbersome during long-distance races but adds that "comfort is a price I pay for the smiles and cheers."
After all, with great running comes great responsibility.
Running for a greater goal
Roher's fellow Teaneck marathoner, Josh Lipowsky, may not be as recognizable on Sunday, but he'll also be running for a greater goal.
When Lipowsky laces up his shoes at the Staten Island starting line, he will think of his mother, Trudy, who died of cancer in 2021.
"She was always there for me," said Lipowsky, 42.
At age 5, Lipowsky was diagnosed with a non-cancerous brain tumor. He spent the next nine years shuttling in and out of the hospital.
His mother, who had a Ph.D in pathology, left her job to stay by his side. Lipowsky remembers her sleeping on a folding cot in the hospital each night and holding his hand during injections. When he was back home, she served as a role model as a Jewish community leader who encouraged her son to follow in her very active footsteps.
As Lipowsky bolts through the five-borough course this weekend, memories of his mom and their bond will keep him going, he said.
He will also be propelled by his goal to raise money for Chai Lifeline, a Jewish international support network that provides an array of free services, including counseling, financial aid and hospital services, to families affected by terminal illness. Thus far, Lipowsky has gotten pledges of nearly $9,000 for the cause, nearing his target of $10,000.
He's caught the superhero bug too. Lipowsky has been known on occasion to dress up as Superman, particularly when participating in the Superhero Half Marathon in Morristown.
Lipowsky has come a long way from his childhood, when he was confined to a hospital bed and could barely walk. His primary sports activity in high school was chess (though he also enjoyed the Star Trek Club.) He never imagined running marathons would be in his future.
Catching the marathon bug
While working at a Jewish newspaper in 2010, he was assigned to cover The Rubin Run, a 5K race at the Kaplen JCC in Tenafly. Lipowsky, the intrepid journalist, decided he wouldn't just write about the race, he'd run in it too.
It took him 45 minutes to finish, "which is a horrible, horrible time," he laughed. "It was painful while I was running, but I enjoyed the runner's high afterward."
Something clicked, and Lipowsky wanted to keep on competing. He signed up for more 5Ks, then 10Ks and then half marathons. Soon he had a drawer filled with T-shirts that boasted of his participation in races around the region.
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Eventually, he ran in the New York Marathon in 2013. He finished in just under 5 hours, a time he is proud of and hopes to match or beat this year.
Lipowsky raised several thousand dollars in that marathon for the Blue Card, a nonprofit that provides support for Holocaust survivors living below the poverty line. "It was personal to me because my grandparents were survivors of Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz," he said. "My mother was born in a displaced persons camp. I lost a lot of family in the Holocaust and wanted to do something to honor them."
These days, he's moved on from journalism to a topic that is close to his heart: He works as a senior research analyst for the Counter Extremism Project, an international policy organization that combats the threat from extremist ideologies.
Chai Lifeline, the charity he'll run for on Sunday, "is a cause that speaks to me because of my own medical history," Lipowsky said. "I didn't have cancer, but I know what it's like to be that scared child in the hospital bed hooked up to an IV and other machines. I know what a difference it can make to have support."
To contribute: www.teamlifeline.org/NYC23/Joshlipowsky
Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: yellin@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Two Teaneck NJ runners will be superheroes at the NYC Marathon
