The Boston Marathon

The third Monday in April is special in Boston. It’s Patriot’s Day. Yes, there’s a baseball game that starts at 11 am. Kids have the day off from school. But those aren’t the most special things. There’s the Boston Marathon.

TV crews will come from all around the world to cover world class athletes taking on one of the toughest marathon courses in the world. But that’s not what this story is about. To me, the story of the Boston Marathon isn’t about world class athletes doing amazing things – impressive as that may be – but rather that of regular people undertaking a colossal personal test for a cause bigger than themselves. There are a lot of cynical people in the world, and many times with good reason – but there are a lot more really good people who are willing to go beyond themselves to make a difference.

They sacrifice months of time training. They go out in dreadful conditions, and run for months to get ready for by far the biggest sporting event in New England. Over 500,000 people will line the route.

There’s no real glory in it. On race day they start out after the elites. They’ll be a face in a crowd of over 30,000 runners at the starting line in Hopkinton.

Charity Runners

Only their friends and relatives know their names. They don’t finish the course in just over two hours. You see them finishing in four, five, or six hours. If you wait long enough, you’ll see runners still coming down the line eight or nine hours after the start – determined to finish.

The next time you’re having a bad day, and people are getting in your way, being rude at the grocery store, or cutting you off in traffic, remember that their are people in the world who will go through these pains and ordeals to make the world around them a better place. Charity runners raised more than $30.6 million for over 200 charities in 2016.

I wanted to share with you three stories by three seemingly unremarkable people. You’ve likely never heard of any of them. None of them would strike you as great athletes. And to me that’s the best part. It took me all of about three seconds to think of three people who’ve run the marathon for charity. There were many others I could’ve included – all of whom also have great stories.. We all know special people like this, who will give of themselves so freely for a cause.

I’m also pretty sure that none of them think of themselves as remarkable. In that, I think in that, they’re all wrong.

I hope you enjoy. I’d also ask that you consider supporting one of these great causes.

Louise Fullerton-Sarofeen

“I ran in 2015 for the American Liver Foundation.

Since going to college at Northeastern and driving my roommate, Jayme Bannon to the start and picking her up at the finish year after year, I had always wanted to run it myself.

I’m not a fast runner, but started running for exercise and fun, and met a great coach, Maria Williams. She convinced me to try the Chicago marathon in 2013. My running buddy Nicolle Sugrue loved running, and after Chicago, she joined the American Liver Foundation Run for Research Team and took on the Boston Marathon in 2013. I was at the finish line waiting for her to finish when the bombs went off.

I was across the street. My friends and I made it up Boylston, back to NU where I had parked, we met Nicolle across the Charles at MIT and then drove home. It was by far one of the scariest moments of my life. But it didn’t stop Nicolle from wanting to go back in 2014 and finish what she started.

Nicolle was in inspiration to me, and she convinced me to apply to the Liver Team too. I was accepted in October 2014 and my training began! I had no idea we were about to embark on the snowiest and coldest winter in Boston history. Training was brutal and many days were on the treadmill for hours since roads weren’t safe for runners.

So how did I get with the Liver Foundation (Other than Nicolle). One of my best friend’s niece was born with Biliary atresia – a dysfunction of the liver ducts and usually found shortly after birth. My friend’s niece, Ann was diagnosed at 2 months, and underwent a liver transplant at 4-months-old.

The Race

When I ran, Ann was just over one, and had just been cleared to be off her anti-rejection meds and able to be at the liver foundation brunch as well as the cheer station at mile 16 with her mom and family. Through the incredible generosity of my friends and family I raised almost $10,000, crushing my goal of $5000 and was the 8th highest fundraiser on my team of over 200 people!

I put in my time, and race day was 40 degrees and raining. Way less than ideal running conditions, but since I trained through a miserable winter I felt ready.

The experience did not disappoint. I started at the back with the rest of the charity runners and made my way to Boston. Heartbreak Hill met me with a head wind, I put my head down and continued.

I finally got to that right on Hereford and left on Boylston where Jayme and my husband Rob met me. Jayme was able to run down Boylston with me taking selfies along the way and I crossed the finish line at about 5:57:08 or something like that… just under the 6-hour mark being me official.

I was purple and cold and wet! But finished one of the most iconic marathons in the world. The Liver Foundation has a conference room at one of the local hotels where we meet after, and once I had a hot shower I was feeling better. and after the Sam Adams 26.2 Brew…. even better!

Today, Ann is a perfectly healthy three year old driving her mom crazy! She also became a big sister about 6 months ago!”

To learn more about the Liver Foundation team (the oldest charity team in the Boston Marathon), click here. To support Nicolle’s run this year click here.

Jonathan Pleva

“I ran the 2015 Boston Marathon for the Chase Michael Anthony Kowalski Foundations “Race4Chase.”

On Friday, December 14, 2012, a turn of events changed my life forever. The unspeakable event of a massacre of 20 first grade students and 6 school teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School occurred. I was a Boy Scout Executive for the Connecticut Yankee Boy Scout Council, headquartered in Milford, CT. Sandy Hook was one of the 43 communities served by the Connecticut Yankee Council. Five of the victims had ties to one of our Cub Scout Packs, Pack 170 from Sandy Hook. Two were Tiger Cub Scouts.

Tiger Cub Chase Kowlaski – a vibrant little boy that loved sports of all kinds, with an incredible competitive spirit. One of the many sports Chase loved was running. Chase began running competitively at age 2 in track races. At age 6, Chase entered his first triathalon. In his first competition he took on the field and won his age group!

As part of my role as the acting executive director of the Boy Scout Council, I attended Chase’s wake, and met his parents, Stephen and Rebecca and sisters Brittany and Erin. I was paralyzed. What could I possible say, what could I possible do to help ease the grief they were going through? Over the next few months I stayed in touch with the family, attending events that they had in memory of Chase in the newly formed CMAK Foundation.

In the fall of 2014, CMAK applied for charity bibs, made available by the John Hancock Non-Profit program. They were awarded 2 of the charity bibs. CMAK announced the exciting news, and solicited folks to apply for the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to run in the world famous Boston Marathon.

The Race

As a youth I was a decent distance runner. I ran 10K races as young as 11. I ran track and cross country in High School, and in

college ran two marathons, including the New York City Marathon. But that marathon was 24 year before this opportunity presented itself. Work and two kids put a serious dent into the amount of running I was able to do. And the decent racing times of the past, were just there, in the past. But the opportunity was too incredible to pass up, so I applied for one of the bibs, and was selected!

Now the daunting task of training throughout one of the snowiest winters in New England history, and the required fundraising obligation of raising $5000 in donations. The necessary money was raised, the miles and miles of training was done, and despite the horrendous cold rainy race day conditions, I completed the course in 5 hours 15 minutes.

One of the main programs CMAK is the Race4Chase Kid’s Triathalon program. This is a program aimed to provide kids aged 6 to 12 with a safe, healthy non-competitive environment to discover the sport of triathlon. It brings together kids from all different backgrounds and educates them on how to adopt a healthy lifestyle, coaches them to develop a foundation of athletic skills, and inspires them to aim high in sports and in life.

I have been, and continue to be truly inspired by the strength and courage that Chase’s family display as they share their vision, “To turn tragedy into triumph by healing and strengthening our families and communities.”

To support the CMAK Foundation visit www.CMAKfoundation.org.”

—

Jonathan Pleva is currently the Chief Operations Officer at the Spirit of Adventure Council, Boy Scouts of America, covers the Boston area.

 Rob Duffy

The Impact

There are countless families who will have better lives because of the efforts of thousands of runners like Louise, Jon and Rob on Monday. They’ll raise so much money for so many good causes. They race to save children’s lives. They’ll race in memory of the lives they couldn’t save. It’s a great example of what people can do voluntarily, for a cause they believe in.

To me, the best part of the race are the charity runners. When I used to work a few hundred yards away from the starting line, I’d leave work a little early, and head over to the finish line. The world-class Olympians had already finished. What you’d see by 4 pm finishing were the normal people, suffering and struggling as you’d think someone would do after running 26 miles. Sometimes you’d see them running with family, who’d joined them to keep them going. You’d see pain in their faces, and determination in their eyes. Most of all, you’ll see a display of love that you may never the likes of anywhere else on Earth.

It’s the kind of thing that a bombing could slow down, for a little while – but not stop. You can’t keep the best of humanity down.

If you’ve never been out to a Boston Marathon, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. It’s something that cannot be properly described. You need to do it at least once. You need to experience what it’s like to be in that crowd, that most positive of place. Because everybody in that crowd knows – they can see it, and their support helps these runners going.

But don’t leave after the elite runners pass by, impressive as they are.

Hang around for the best part.

This Year’s Race

The 121st running of the Boston Marathon will take place on Monday, April 17th. The start times are as follows:

• 8:50 a.m.: Mobility Impaired
• 9:17 a.m.: Wheelchair Division
• 9:22 a.m.: Handcycle Participants
• 9:32 a.m.: Elite Women
• 10:00 a.m.: Elite Men and Wave One
• 10:25 a.m.: Wave Two
• 10:50 a.m.: Wave Three
• 11:15 a.m.: Wave Four

On the Air

WBZ (Channel 4) will broadcast the Boston Marathon locally. You can also watch the race online at cbsboston.com.

In addition, NBC Sports Network will carry the Boston Marathon starting Monday at 8:30 am on television. They’ll also carry it online at NBCSports.com.