Letter and Info

About nine months ago I signed up to run a triathlon. I’m not exactly sure what compelled me to do so, other than that it seemed like a good challenge (and something that might finally compel me to learn how to swim). From my first comical swimming lessons and panic attacks in the middle of Walden Pond, to biking up the hills in Dexter, Maine, to the final brick workouts in Lakeville, MA, it was an inspiring and sometimes grueling six months of training. And it planted the seeds of addiction.

Crossing the finish line at the end of August only made me want to run, swim and bike more. I began to look ahead to races involving the word “Ironman” in their title. 10K’s quickly became half marathons, and when I turned the corner to finish those races, there was always a little sadness that I wasn’t continuing on for the full 26.2 (granted there was also a lot of happiness as well).

The little part of me that kept imagining running on began to tug a little harder. And two weeks ago, while I was recovering from the Manchester ½ marathon, I had my epiphany. If I was going to run a marathon, it would be Boston.

I have vivid memories, as a kid, biking with my parents to watch the Boston Marathon. I remember the names “Bill Rogers” and “Joan Benoit” and even “Rosie Ruiz”; I remember handing out cups of water to very tired looking people; and I remember hearing about “heartbreak hill” and not quite understanding what that meant. Most of all, I remember witnessing a tradition that attracted so many people to come together to cheer on athletes from all over the world – people in wheel chairs, people of all different races and ethnicities, people wearing colorful costumes, people running on behalf of others, people just trying to finish.

If this was a poignant realization, an equally humbling one was that I would never be able to qualify for Boston. Even if I could simply double my ½ marathon time, I’d still be 25 minutes shy of the 3:15 qualifying time I’d need for my age group. So, for a while, it was just a pleasant thought – a Boston reverie.

But as I began to read more about it, I realized that I had another option: to join a charity team, and earn a legitimate entry through charity work. It seemed like the perfect choice. I felt like I owed something to be able to compete in a race I wasn’t quite qualified for, and making payment in the form of charity work seemed just about the best possible way to justify my entry. Plus, the physical challenge of running can become very personal and isolating. Training with a charity team would bring the camaraderie of others and a purpose that transcended the miles.

When I competed in my first triathlon last summer, I raised money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dana Farber is a well known, local and highly respected cancer research center: their facilities are close to my home, and have provided treatment for former students and colleagues of mine. Dana Farber is also one of the largest Boston Marathon charities, so about three weeks ago, I applied for an official marathon entry through the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC), a competitive program that will require a large charitable commitment. (I found out that I had been accepted while I was teaching, and my students picked up on my excitement. When I told them the news, they immediately insisted on helping me design a charity donation box for the classroom.)

So over the next 5 months, I will be training and fundraising for the marathon. Dana Farber will provide a coach (former Boston Marathon winner Jack Fultz), workout programs and team events. I’m looking forward to spending time with others taking on the same challenges, and to coming up with creative ways to fundraise. And most of all, I’m looking forward to reliving the memories of my childhood from the other side of the sidewalk.

As part of my fundraising effort, I have created a charity webpage at:
http://www.runDFMC.org/2010/joshb

Please consider making a donation to support this effort. 100% of the proceeds go directly to Dana Farber and to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Research. To learn more, visit: https://www.dana-farber.org/