Marathon Man – Ben Beach
I’ve discussed what a great time of year this is for sports fans. And one of the premier events is the Boston Marathon which celebrated its 120th running on this past Monday. Well, Ben Beach, a great friend of this blog, just finished his 49th consecutive Boston Marathon in 5 hours and 31 minutes, far below the 6 hour cutoff time that the Marathon recently imposed for those runners who have run 25 or more consecutive years. So Ben has qualified for 2017 and his 50th in a row – quite an achievement, especially considering the fact that dystonia severely restricts the miles he can put in for training. Here is a nice article on Ben that ran before the 2015 marathon discussing his record-breaking exploits. A veritable youngster in his mid-60s, Ben is closing in on the legendary Johnny Kelley’s feat of finishing 58 Boston Marathons. What’s even more incredible is that this is not the only streak of this length that Ben has going – he has a similar run of attendance at Harvard-Yale football games. What dedication!
Marathon Monday was a beautiful day, with a perfect mix of celebration by / for the runners and respect for those whose lives were forever changed in 2013. Ben ran a fantastic race, and the winner of the Women's Division, from Ethiopia, gave her trophy to the first female ever to run Boston — Roberta (Bobbi) Gibb – who, 50 years ago, had to run illegally and in disguise because women weren't allowed to be official entrants, and whose feat was never officially acknowledged at the time. All in all, historic …