When I think about Jeff Godin, a number of words come to mind, but it is his grit, passion, and authenticity that stand out the most. Everyone loved Dr. Godin–he had an ability to make connections with people and to inspire them to be better versions of themselves. I worked with Jeff, in the Exercise and Sports Science Department at Fitchburg State University for just under 10 years. Jeff had been there for about 15 years prior to my arrival, and I couldn’t have asked for a better Central Massachusetts welcome from him. Although Jeff was on the reserved side in the office, I really appreciated the raw and real conversations he had with our students.
Jeff was a quiet leader in endurance sports–he exceled in Ironman triathlons, trail ultraruns, cycling, mountain biking, obstacle racing, and adventure racing. He was a Death Race participant, and if you haven’t looked up what that is, you should. He also enjoyed playing hockey, and could often be found on Wachusett Mountain–hiking while carrying large logs, or even other humans–HA!
Not only did Jeff dedicate 25 years to FSU, both as a professor and a strength and conditioning coach, his impact also extended globally as the founder of the Spartan SGX Certification program, where he trained thousands of people under his guiding principle, “Building Better Humans”. Jeff also owned and operated Blackstone Valley Human Performance, where he did performance testing for athletes, measuring their VO2max and lactate threshold.
It was a shock to all of us a few years ago when we found out that Jeff was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. We couldn’t believe that the healthiest person we knew was dealt such an awful hand. Jeff and his wife, Tammy, were in the process of building their dream home, with a built-in gym in their garage, and it felt like a sick joke. The prognosis for pancreatic cancer patients is not good, especially Jeff’s stage and type.
Jeff shocked us all by fighting it as long as he did, and he even continued to teach classes and work with athletes through his treatments. During this time, I would open Instagram to find pictures of Jeff running on his home treadmill while doing an at-home chemo treatment. He even completed the Spartan Race at Fenway during treatment, which made it really hard for me to come up with any excuse not to exercise.
Jeff fought a courageous battle, affording him just a bit more time with his best friend and partner in crime, Tammy. He was a caring father, and even got a short (but sweet) amount of time to be a loving grandfather. I know that Jeff’s reach extends far beyond that, and that there are many people around the world still grieving his loss. I know that his absence will be felt at Fitchburg State for years to come. We want to honor Jeff in the best way we know how, which is why we are working to raise $125K to first, create an endowed scholarship to support students pursuing careers in exercise science, and second, have the gym inside of our strength and conditioning facility named after him. I am sure there are many people out there who knew Jeff, or know his wife Tammy and would like to contribute to our fundraising efforts.
There are two ways you can help. The first way is through a donation to our fundraising page, which can be found here. The second way is by joining me on November 8 or 9 to complete the Spartan 5k Obstacle Race at Fenway Park. Spartan has donated 1000 tickets to me to sell for this event. This is a HUGE goal, but I am optimistic that people will show up to honor Jeff, because it couldn’t possibly be harder than doing that race while undergoing cancer treatment, right? Tickets sold through Spartan’s website cost $179 (when all is said and done) but I am able to sell them for $100 for participants, and $50 for students. After you purchase your tickets through our website, you will need to check your email for the instructions so that you can sign up for the race through Spartan’s website, using our discount code. Click here to sign up for the Spartan race.
THIS STORY SUBMITTED BY: Lindsay Parisi, Ph. D.
