Tony Snow pal competes for charity

It’s not every day you go running with a neighbor and then hear about it on the radio.

Then again, most people didn’t have the pleasure of the late former White House press secretary, TV news anchor and radio talk show host Tony Snow for a neighbor.

Jay McConville and his Mount Vernon neighbor went for a run together a few years back, and the next day on the radio he heard Mr. Snow say Mr. McConville had smoked him.

“I thought he was doing fine,” Mr. McConville said, laughing fondly at this and other memories of his friend.

Mr. Snow died in July at age 53, after his second battle with colon cancer.

On Sunday, Mr. McConville plans to compete in the Nation’s Triathlon, and all the funds he raises will go to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in honor of Mr. Snow.

“He was always a great guy in asking me how my racing was going,” said Mr. McConville, who has participated in a number of other triathlons, including the Nation’s Triathlon last year with Mr. Snow’s sister, Jenny.

“Jenny started a fundraising effort for cancer research, and decided to do the Nation’s Triathlon,” said Mr. McConville. “I asked if it would be all right if I did that race too, and so together we both had our fundraising Web sites, and we did well. Tony came to the race, and was really excited about it.”

Together they raised $13,000.

This year, however, Mr. McConville was unsure about participating. “At first I wasn’t going to do it, and then thought, well, he’d want to do it, and he’d want me to do it. It’s a good thing to do for him.”

Mr. McConville got out of the Army in 1996 and moved with his family to a scenic neighborhood off the George Washington Parkway in Mount Vernon. As Mr. McConville and his wife, Sue, got to know their neighbors, they soon discovered that one of them was a celebrity. Mr. Snow at that time was the host of Fox News Sunday.

Mr. Snow had earlier been editorial page editor of The Washington Times from 1987 to 1991.

The families became friends. Their children knew each other and went to the same grade school, and their wives also spent time together, Mr. McConville said. Soon the two men began playing together in a charity band called Beats Workin’ - which was in demand because of Mr. Snow’s fame.

The band, consisting of seven members, played at various locations, including the Ronald Reagan Building, National Press Club and the White House, Mr. McConville said. Mr. Snow played the flute, saxophone and guitar, while Mr. McConville sang and occasionally played the trumpet.

Mr. McConville smiles as he recalls the times he and Mr. Snow carpooled to band practice together. During the 45-minute rides to McLean, Mr. McConville enjoyed picking his brain and talking to him about various topics.

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