More than 500 people participated in the 14th Annual Brian Honan 5K Road Race, which kicked off at noon on Sunday in Allston. The friendly competition of the race has raised money for local charities, community organizations and scholarships, said State Rep. Kevin Honan, the brother of the late Brian Honan.
The race, which many people walked, is held every year in part to honor the memory of Brian Honan, who represented his home district of Allston-Brighton in the Boston City Council until his passing in 2002. The race also helps to bring local community members together with college students, according to Honan.
Students from Boston-area universities, including Boston University, Boston College, Harvard University and Northeastern University, converged near Tavern in the Square, an Allston restaurant and bar, to start the race alongside other local community members. The Allston Village Street Fair livened the atmosphere further for the friendly competition.
“There’s a little Beanpot-type atmosphere,” BU Assistant Dean of Students John Battaglino said before race day. “There’s a little bit of competition … but far more important for us is that fact that Kevin [Honan] is a neighbor and the folks in Allston and Brighton are our neighbors and they’re important to us.”
In fact, BU made a contribution to the Brian J. Honan Charitable Fund this year before the day of the race, allowing any interested BU student to participate for free, Battaglino said.
“[The contribution] is our effort to say, ‘Let’s make it easy for our students to get out and interact with their neighbors,’” Battaglino said. “We want them to be part of the fabric of this city.”
The funds that were raised will go to support local organizations that Brian Honan championed during both his time as a resident and as a representative of Allston and Brighton, according to Race Director Nick Capriola, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Among the beneficiaries, Honan said, are the West End House Boys and Girls Club, the Oak Square YMCA and the Allston and Brighton Boards of Trade scholarship funds. Brian Honan frequented the West End House Boys and Girls Club growing up and he later became the chair of the Boston City Council college and university subcommittee, according to his brother.
Not only did the road race help raise money to support local community causes, but it also helped to unite the people of the community – something that the Honan brothers have strived to do their entire careers, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh told The Daily Free Press during the race.
“You have all the colleges coming together here in memory of Brian Honan, who was an incredible city councilor,” Walsh said. “It’s a great way to bring newer students that are in our city here to see the traditions of our city – remembering somebody who served, but also doing something positive.”
Several participants in the road race said they thought the 5K was a great way to help integrate college students into the Allston and Brighton communities.
Bob Pessek, 75, from Allston, said he thought the race was a succeeded at honoring the memory of Brian Honan and uniting the community.
“I’ve known the Honans … [Brian] was a rising star in public service,” Pessek said. “[The race] is a great thing … all these people out here sweating together. It’s always a festive kind of atmosphere and it’s good stuff.”
Paula Fleming, 61, from Brighton, said she knew Brian Honan and that she thought the race did a good job at introducing college students to the residents of Allston and Brighton.
“[Honan] was a really, really good guy and he did a lot of good for the neighborhood,” Fleming said. “It helps [students] see that they’re not the center of the universe and it helps people also see that they’re also terrific kids.”
Bruno Marcolini, 27, from São Paulo, Brazil, said he liked seeing the interactions between locals and non-locals at the race.
“It’s great, not only for Boston but for other countries as well,” Marcolini said. “I, for example, am from Brazil, and I joined the community here and it’s good to have this interaction between people from the colleges and universities and the city as well.”
