The Marathon Singlet

The Marathon Singlet – it can have a lot of meaning to the runner and in the marathon it can tell a story to the spectators.

My first singlet was that of my high school team. Back in its day Cathedral was the dominant force in Western Mass. I joined track the spring of my junior year and I started off pole vaulting. My friends all thought I could run though and they talked the coach into letting me run a 440 one meet. A 440 - that’s yards, not meters – high school for me was a long time ago! I ran a great 300, came out of the final corner in first place and then hit the wall. My legs completely seized up and all my buddies had a good laugh watching me struggle home the final straight away!! But I did OK and showed some potential so they talked me into running Cross Country my senior year. It was a stacked team, perennial Western Mass Champions. In fact they had 2 varsity teams – the top 7 runners were the “A” team and they ran in all the invitational meets. The “B” team was the next 7 runners and they ran in all the league meets – and were undefeated for years. I was on the “B” team as a first-year senior but I took no shame in it – it was a great group of guys and even our 7th runner would have been a top 4 runner on any other team in Western Mass. I was proud to run for Cathedral.

My next singlet was my first running club – in fact my only running club. In 1978, the Greater Springfield Harriers recruited a bunch of us from my high school team and sent us to Utica, New York to run in the US Junior National 10K Championship. We finished 2nd as a team and had a great trip. Good times with great guys that - another singlet in my attic that I just can't throw out!

As I mentioned earlier though, when you run a marathon, your singlet can be used to tell a story. I didn’t realize this initially. In my first Boston I was running along and mile after mile spectators kept calling out to “John the Barber”. All along the route I kept hearing, “hey, there’s John the Barber” or “looking good John the Barber.” After a few miles I’m thinking, “this guy is one busy barber”! Everyone knew this guy! When I found out later how folks write things on their singlet I realized the reality was, none of the spectators knew this guy, they were just reading his singlet! But what a great motivator when you’re running along and someone reads your singlet and calls something out to you.

My favorite marathon singlet is my home-made USMC one. When I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2014, I had to have something indicating my affiliation with the Corps. So, I took a plain dark singlet and a white marker and presto – I was running DC in my USMC singlet! I have to admit, I took a lot of pride in serving in the Corps. Mitrook, Rick, Posey, French, Green, Whitlow, McCutcheon, Arrington, Vaughn, Hillwig…… It was an honor to have served with such fine men and women and I thought of them often throughout that run and again when I returned in 2015. I’ll never have the honor of wearing the uniform again, but running with USMC across my chest …… hard to describe ….. but I know my fellow jarheads understand.

My first marathon singlet was my Griffin’s Friends singlet. When I first decided to run a marathon I hooked up with a local charity group – Griffin’s Friends. Griffin was a little kid who died of cancer and his dad and uncles started a charity in his name to support other families dealing with childhood cancer. They got a few friends together, raised some money and jumped into the Boston Marathon. And every year they kept coming back with more runners, raising more money and making a difference to all these families fighting cancer. It is a great group of folks who are passionate about making a difference for these struggling families. I knew many of them from other aspects of my life but I never really was able to train with them. My son played hockey and his schedule never allowed me the time to join their Sunday training runs. But I had great friends who would donate money in my name and I would take their team bus to Boston and run with their singlet. They were good people and I took pride in being affiliated with them. Every year after Boston they would have a nice banquet and the kids would award the runners a special GF medal and a t-shirt and you would see all the kids and the families and it was always a special night. One year, the morning after the banquet I was out shopping with my newly awarded GF t-shirt on and a man and his teenage daughter came up to me and commented on it. It turns out the girl had battled childhood cancer and was a recipient of some of the services Griffin’s Friends provide. They were so appreciative of the group and it was great seeing this young lady and knowing she had conquered her illness. I left that store feeling good and walked into the store next door. While I was shopping there this guy kept staring at me and finally he made a comment about my t-shirt. He proceeded to tell me his niece had fought childhood cancer and had benefitted from Griffin’s Friends. Being in a good mood and thinking of the young lady who I had just met I asked the man how his niece was doing today. A somber look came over his face and he answered that his niece had lost her battle …..but his family would always be appreciative of all Griffin’s Friends did for her. I was speechless. When I got home I wrote an email to Jimmy, Griffin’s dad, and I told him as long as I could run Boston I would run for Griffin’s Friends.

I kept that promise to Jimmy and ran for Griffin’s through 2013. However, with the tragedy of the Boston bombing, Griffin’s Friends had to shift their fund raiser to the Holyoke Marathon instead of Boston. So, with the group no longer running Boston I’ve been wearing my club’s singlet the last 3 years instead.

My club singlet is nice, fits well and with “Boston College 1981” and “USMC” added to it, I get plenty of encouragement along the route. There’s nothing like climbing Heartbreak and reaching the thousands of crazy BC students and having them read your singlet and go nuts cheering for the old guy who graduated so long ago!

So, what will I wear for Boston this year, which, in all likelihood will be my last?

When I was a freshman in college my roommate, “Chopper”, had a Harry Chapin album that I played a thousand time. I love the song, “All my Life’s a Circle”.

All my life's a circle; But I can't tell you why; Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by. No straight lines make up my life; And all my roads have bends; There's no clear-cut beginnings; And so far no dead-ends. I found you a thousand times; I guess you done the same; But then we lose each other; It's like a children's game; As I find you here again; A thought runs through my mind; Our love is like a circle; Let's go 'round one more time.

Chopper was not a "runner" but he trained for the 1978 Boston Marathon and I was going to run with him to provide support. I got sick a week before though and I ended up bailing on him. But Chopper ran and finished and I was so proud of him. Little did I know then that it would take me 26 years to run it myself! And I never imagined that I would have the privilege of running Boston for 14 consecutive years!

So, while I don’t know what the future holds and if this will be my last Boston or not, I do know I am not qualified for next year and I know with my knee I’m running on borrowed time. So I am going into this Boston thinking this probably is the end. And with that in mind I’ve decided my singlet this year will be a symbolic gesture - I will be running in my Greater Springfield Harriers’ singlet with Boston College and USMC boldly added but I’ll also pin on a swatch of my first marathon singlet, my Griffin’s Friends singlet – and I’ll connect my beginning with my end.

My life has been a circle so, “Let’s go 'round one more time."