The year that Heroes In Transition (HIT) Board Member Michael (Mike) Procek turned 50, he used it as an opportunity to bond with his son Marc by running the Falmouth Road Race.
Roughly 30 years later, Marc will do the same — he turns 50 on August 19th ; Mike’s birthday is a few days later on the 22nd — when he runs the iconic race this Sunday with his 13-year-old son Colton.
The family tradition will be even more special as Colton is running his first-ever Falmouth Road Race by supporting Heroes In Transition, an organization his grandfather has long been affiliated with. “I thought it would be nice to do something, especially with this being the year my grandfather is stepping down from the board,” Colton said. “He’s been there since HIT’s beginnings.”
Next month, Mike and his close friend, HIT Co-founder Cyndy Jones, will be transitioning off the board. Both have been instrumental in shaping HIT into the organization it is today.
“Giving back has always been a part of who my dad is,” said Marc. “With him having served in the military and knowing the Joneses, his involvement with HIT has taken on a whole other significance. And with my dad having served in Vietnam and having lost people close to him and known people who have dealt with some challenges when they returned home — my dad doesn’t talk a lot about it — I know the work HIT does is very near and dear to him.”
Marc, who lives in Windham, New Hampshire, with his two children, Colton and Taylor, 16, has close ties to the Falmouth Road Race, having run it roughly 25 times. This one will be particularly meaningful as both Colton and Taylor will be running with him as he prepares to celebrate a milestone birthday.
“I get emotional thinking about it,” he said. “I spent summers on the Cape visiting my grandparents who introduced me to the Falmouth Road Race so I’ve run it all these years. Now to run it with my kids, it is a nice tradition and something I’ll always have.”
Marc’s grandparents, Claudia and Mike — he served in the Army during World War II — lived in Falmouth Heights, a short walk from the race’s finish line. The Procek’s ties to the military extend to Marc’s dad who retired as a Lt. Colonel after a 22-year flying career in the Air Force.
In recalling his race three decades ago when his father turned 50, Marc said, the best part was being able to reconnect with his dad after being away at the College of the Holy Cross his freshman year. “I was back for the summer so after my dad got home from work, we’d go out and we’d run. We had some trails not far from us at the high school,” Marc said. “I think that is probably the best part of this. It brings back those memories and gives me a chance to now build new ones with my kids.”
While Marc never served in the military –— he works as an investment consultant with large institutions on retirement plans and building endowments — he said his father has been an important part of his life. “I’ve always looked to him for guidance and valued his input on any big decisions I make in life,” he said.
Colton shared similar sentiments about his grandfather which is why he is so excited to run this Sunday’s Falmouth Road Race to honor him by supporting HIT. “I kind of get my sense of humor from him. We joke around a lot and we’re very close which means a lot to me,” said Colton. “It’s really been fun to raise funds for my grandfather’s organization. I hope it means something to him about why I ultimately chose HIT because of his involvement with them.”
Click this link to support Heroes In Transition’s 2025 Falmouth Road Race team.
I worked with Mike for several years @BAE Systems. He was and surely stil is a brilliant, unassuming nice guy who reminds me of Bobby Orr in that he always did the “right thing”! Kinda a hero to me.