Count Me In -- Extracurriculars
If you are feeling intimidated by the college application process, I highly suggest breaking up the application into sizeable sections. One section…
Ever since coming to Tufts, Marathon Monday has been one of my favorite days each year. Watching the elite marathoners run by is jaw-dropping and incredibly inspiring. More importantly is the energy radiating throughout Boston on Marathon Monday. Spectators line the entire 26.2 mile course and cheer on each runner as they go by. This event brings the city of Boston together more than anything I have ever seen. It is days like Marathon Monday that make me proud to be apart of the Boston community and the Tufts community.
The Tufts President's Marathon Challenge started in 2003, and the team has continued to grow ever since. Because participants raise money for charity, members of the Tufts Marathon Team get bib numbers without having to meet the Boston Marathon's qualification requirements. The number of official Tufts runners is capped at one hundred, and even with that limit, Tufts runners and supporters have raised more than $4 million to support nutrition, medical, and fitness programs at Tufts, including research on childhood obesity at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
The team includes students, faculty, staff, and alumni from all Tufts campuses. Tufts Marathon Team coach, Don Megerle, has spent the past 6 months preparing his runners for the April 21st event. Although not on the marathon team myself, I see Don almost every morning as early as 7am, and every afternoon down at the gym training his athletes. I can tell he serves not only as a coach, but also as a mentor, a motivator, a cheerleader, and a friend.
The 2014 Boston Marathon will be significant in a new way, since it marks one year since the bombings occurred. Coach Megerle was at the finish line that day greeting the Tufts runners. Megerle wandered the streets looking for his athletes and helping people for six hours after the bombs went off.
Below is a letter that Coach Megerle wrote to the current members of the Tufts Marathon team as they prepare for the Boston Marathon, which is just 3 weeks away!
'Reflections on The Boston Marathon / Notes to Myself'
‘A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive ... and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life, and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.’
- Vince Lombardi
‘What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a person is in that state of mind in which they know exactly what they want and is fully determined not to quit until they find it.’ - Alexander Graham Bell
On April 21st, 2014, each of you will be basking in the aftermath of having run the 117th Boston Marathon ... A crowning achievement, to say the least!
During the final days leading up to the marathon there may come a time when you ask yourself the following question ... ‘What have I got myself into!?’ Personally, I see the Tufts Marathon Team as a group of courageous men and women who view their training, and running the marathon, as the finest way to develop one’s character, determination, and courage!
There is a common bond that ties each of you together in a very special way... namely: you have been preparing your minds and bodies for an extraordinary journey that will begin in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and complete itself in the center of Boston!
I can assure you that the real payoff will not ring clear until after the marathon. My journey began in 2004 as the Director of the Tufts Marathon Team. It has been much more rewarding than I ever imagined. I fondly recall President Bacow asking me, ‘What is it like standing at the finish line greeting all the runners?’ I enthusiastically said, ‘Indescribable ... you have to actually be there to see what takes place!’
As we plan your team dinner, the logistics transporting the team to Boston and Hopkinton, and providing your parents with transportation to Mile 9, I can already ‘see’ myself walking along Boylston Street. I have so many incredible memories from my first Boston Marathon in 2005:
2005 Boston Marathon ... My 'Maiden' Voyage!
I recall with great fondness being just 20 feet from the Boston Marathon finish line, while standing under the blue bridge of photographers. I kept thinking about all the months of training ... the endless hours of watching the team train on the roads ... the countless physical therapy sessions that we attended ... and the incredible number of emails.
There I was, proudly wearing my official John Hancock Credential ... just a few feet from thousands of runners completing their journey. Spectators on each side of the barriers that enclosed the racecourse surrounded me; joined by dozens of BAA officials and EMT personnel ... I was truly in my element!
I was so focused on all the runners sprinting down Boylston Street, searching for the first yellow PMC singlet! Nothing meant more to me than to have the opportunity to greet each runner as they crossed the line. I kept looking at my watch trying to gauge when the first Tufts runner would appear. Patiently waiting ... and waiting ... and then it happened.
The sighting of the first Tufts PMC runner! Honestly, it was the thrill of a lifetime. Their face was beaming, and their hands were held high overhead proudly displaying the Tufts yellow singlet. There was a sense of
relief followed by overwhelming joy!! When our eyes connected, we smiled and embraced as if nothing else mattered at that moment. I will treasure those feelings forever.
I will always remember how thrilling it was to watch our team of marathoners come into view. One by one the Tufts runners came pouring in. It was truly extraordinary. Hugs ... tears ... laughter ... sweat ... joy ... and excitement beyond description.
As I stood near the finish area, I was as proud as I could be right up until our last Tufts runner crossed under the blue bridge. As I made contact with each one, it became crystal clear what this event meant to our runners. I could feel the excitement generated by the cheering crowds, and the energy expended by each runner as they completed their journey. In the background I could hear the announcer reciting the names of prominent marathoners crossing the finish line ... but none more meaningful to me than the runners from Tufts!
I walked alongside our runners and guided them to a nearby water station where they received protective clothing. I watched thousands of determined men and women reach their goal that day. Embracing our runners as they crossed the finish line meant the world to me! Everything felt so right!
We all know that a marathon must have a starting point with an eventual finish line. And in between the two you will find the real heroes. Collectively, you will join a rare breed of individuals who are willing to endure untold sacrifices in order to experience all the emotional highs and lows that are required of a marathoner. In spite of running for various reasons and causes, marathon runners share a sense of achievement that comes from running the distance itself ... 26.2 miles to be exact! On Marathon Monday each one of you will experience a number of remarkable moments that you will talk about for the rest of your lives.
Being at the finish line and greeting each runner is my special way of saying ‘Thank you!’ And no one ... not a soul ... will complain about the cold days in December and January ... or how tired they felt when they were training on the marathon hills in January and March ... or how their aching muscles must have cried out moments before the finish, because their bright smiles, and tears of joy will say it all.
And that, my friends, is what each of you can look forward to as you begin your trek from Hopkinton to Boston!
Best wishes for continued success ... Thank you!
Your devoted friend, Don Megerle
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