Days of Our Lives’ Greg Rikaart reveals the two soap stars who inspired him to join a marathon race

On Days of Our Lives, Leo Stark has gone from a scheming miscreant to a likable kind of guy. Leaving his job as gossip columnist Lady Whistleblower to write the scripts for the soap-within-a-soap, Body & Soul, Leo gained the trust of many Salemites. Dedicating himself to being a better person mirrored his real-life alter ego, Greg Rikaart, who dedicated himself to participating in the New York Marathon. He explained his soapy influences for completing such a remarkable task.

Inspiration came from various people

After Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie Williams) gave the eulogy for her husband Bill Hayes — who played Doug Williams on Days of Our Lives until his passing — Rikaart found himself inspired to accomplish something big in his life. He told Soap Opera Digest that after the eulogy and hearing about all of Hayes’ exploits and achievements, he thought to himself:

What am I doing with my life? I certainly left prepared and feeling like I needed to take some bigger swings. I committed to it, I took my training really seriously.

Once he committed to running the race, Rikaart began training and worked his way up from a few miles to 20. Along the path, his husband, Rob Suddoth, and their son, Monte, would appear at various points to cheer him on. One other person who was there, much to Rikaart’s surprise, was Peter Bergman, who plays Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless. Bergman's niece was also participating in the marathon. Rikaart also plays Kevin Fisher on Y&R on a recurring basis, and the two are good friends.

Because his name was on a tag on his shirt, Rikaart found that when people yelled, “Go Greg!” he was inspired to continue despite fatigue. He noted that there was a point where he faltered and things didn’t look so good, but inspiration reared its head again in the form of his friend.

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But around mile 24, 25, I was having a hard time, and I heard, ‘Greg, Greg.’ I kept running, and then I heard, ‘Greg Rikaart.’ I turned and I looked, and it was Peter Bergman and [his wife] Mariellen. I ran over to them and was like, ‘I’m so happy to see you guys! Peter was like, ‘Go! Go!’ It was exactly the shot in the arm that I needed for that final push. So it was great to see them.”

Rikaart’s race began on Staten Island, where he grew up. He recalled watching the marathon on TV every year and learning that his uncle was also a runner he referred to as not being an “elite.” Meaning, he didn’t run for speed but just for the enjoyment of doing it. That also inspired Rikaart to enter his first marathon, and he ultimately finished after four and a half hours, which isn’t too shabby for a first-timer.

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