Inspired to Run
Michelle Murdock, Freelance Writer | February 2014
From the establishment of the start line in Hopkinton in 1924 and Hopkinton’s connection to the Boston Athletic Association, to the origin of the Hopkinton Marathon Committee in 1980, to Hopkinton’s sister city relationship with Marathon, Greece and the presence of the Marathon Flame, the Boston Marathon touches all aspects of life in Hopkinton. It also creates a footprint. Something more than just the history of how it all started, Hopkinton’s Marathon Footprint is something that creates an impression and influences those who visit, and those who make Hopkinton their home. It is the runners who live in Hopkinton that are the subject of our story today; runners who will tell you how it feels to live and run in the town that, this year, will welcome 37,000 runners to the start line of the 118th Boston Marathon.
Hopkinton resident Joe Markey ran in high school, participating in cross country and indoor track, and he has been a runner on and off since then, but it wasn’t until about five years ago that he took it back up on a more consistent basis. When he was 25 years old, he ran the Marine Corps Marathon and always figured that he would run another marathon someday, but it wasn’t until he moved to Hopkinton that he was inspired to qualify to run the Boston Marathon.
“I’d go to the start line every year to watch,” said Markey, “and being able to see that start line, living in Hopkinton and knowing I was a runner, I wanted to be able to say yes when people asked if I had run Boston.”
But to run Boston, Joe had to go to Vermont. In 2010, he ran the Vermont City Marathon without a lot of training and finished with a good time but did not meet the qualifying standard. The following year, he ran in Vermont again, this time qualifying for Boston which he ran in 2012.
“Due to the heat in 2012, I didn’t run the time that I wanted,” said Markey. Without qualifying, he ran Boston again in 2013, raising money for Hopkinton’s Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SPEAC). And this time, after lots of hard training, his finish time was good enough to qualify for Boston this year.
“Last year was the culmination of a four-year journey to get to Boston,” said Markey. And it was a journey that was inspired by living and running in Hopkinton. “Hopkinton is a great place for runners,” he said. “You’re never the only runner out there. It is definitely motivating. Seeing people running by my house every day, sets a new standard and you tell yourself, yes, you can get out there too.”
For those of you who know Joe, you also know that in addition to being a runner and a member of the Hopkinton Running Club, he is also a volunteer, having served on several town boards and currently serving as the chairman of the Elementary School Building Committee. He says some of the mental traits that contribute to good running, like patience and perseverance, carry over to volunteer work and being in good physical shape helps to create the right temperament for serving on town committees.
“I always recommend running to my civic volunteering friends because running is good stress management, and I always recommend civic volunteering to my running friends because good physical conditioning usually goes hand in hand with the good mental conditioning needed for civic volunteer work,” said Markey.
Deb Thomas is another Hopkinton runner who combines running with volunteering, serving on the Hopkinton Planning Board and completing a total of 11 marathons. She has run the San Francisco, New York, and Boston marathons, as well as the Manchester City Marathon in New Hampshire. Deb ran Boston last year but did not finish due to the bombings at the finish line and initially thought she would never run Boston again. But then she got angry.
“This is something I am passionate about,” she said. “I’m going to do this again.”
But first there were a few obstacles to overcome. Thomas says she finds it too difficult to run the New York City Marathon in November and the Boston Marathon in April and she was already registered for New York. In addition, she was not qualified for Boston. But once she decided she wanted to run Boston again this year, Thomas wrote an impassioned email to the organizers in New York and asked for a deferral and explained that she lived not even a mile from the Boston Marathon start. She received a nice response and thank you saying she could run New York when she was ready, so the next step was a trip to Manchester, New Hampshire for a qualifying time.
Although running is not something new for Thomas, she says moving to Hopkinton did have an effect, especially after joining the Hopkinton Running Club. According to Thomas, even for those with only a slight interest in running, living in Hopkinton ramps it up, takes it to a higher level, and there are a lot of runners with the goal of running Boston.
“You embrace it,” said Thomas. “It’s our little ground hog day.”
Thomas says she has also experienced many of the marathon related events that Hopkinton offers such as meeting the Kenyan runners at Elmwood Elementary School and attending the dedication of the bronze statue of Dick and Rick Hoyt at Center School, an event that was very emotional for her. Looking forward to this year’s Boston Marathon, Thomas says, “I am thrilled to be running it. It will definitely, without a doubt, be the most memorable marathon I will ever run.”
And joining Thomas at the start line in April is another Hopkinton resident and 11-time marathon runner, Stephanie Whelan. Inspired by her roommate, Whelan started running in college, mainly to stay in shape. She ran her first marathon in 1991 in Columbus, Ohio. Her second marathon was in Boston as a member of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team, which for Whelan was the best of both; doing something good for herself that was a huge personal achievement and combining that with giving back.
Whelan ran Boston six years in a row during the 1990s, but ironically stopped running Boston when she moved to Hopkinton, saying she needed a break. But over time, after living in the town that hosts the start line, her desire to run marathons returned and in the fall of 2002, she ran the Baystate Marathon and received a qualifying time for Boston. Her last marathon was in 2006. But she’ll be back at the start line in April, after an eight-year hiatus, running as part of the Hopkinton Running Club team and she wants everyone to know that she considers it both an honor and a privilege to be able to do so.
“I want to be part of this,” said Whelan. “It’s special – this was the year to do it.”
When she’s not running marathons, Whelan is still involved with running. A member of the Hopkinton Running Club, Whelan served as Treasurer and Membership Director for multiple years and coordinated the club's annual 21 Mile On Course Training Run for the Boston Marathon for 10 years. A 26.2 Foundation board member since 2004, Whelan is serving her 10th year as Coordinator of "Team Hopkinton" and will continue her work as the 5K Race Coordinator for the Sharon Timlin Memorial 5K Road Race & Family Fun Day, an event she has been involved with since the event's inception in 2004.
“I feel so fortunate that I have been able to be part of that,” said Whelan. “I got involved as a runner, but I do it from the other side.”
For all three of these Hopkinton residents, living and running in Hopkinton has been an inspiration; one that is both personal and extending into their community involvement. In talking to all three, the effect of Hopkinton’s Marathon Footprint comes through loud and clear.
“Hopkinton is a great place for runners,” said Markey. “You’re definitely never the only runner out there. It’s definitely motivating.”
