Rachel McLean
Rachel McLean, a senior in Boston University’s College of Communication, ran her second Boston Marathon in three years on Monday. As she prepared to compete this year, raising money for the KeepSmilin4Abbie Foundation, the cause is close to home.
McLean grew up in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, the starting point of Monday’s marathon. As a senior in high school, she lost a friend and member of her field hockey team, Abbie Benford, to anaphylaxis. Benford was 15 years old.
“I wasn’t planning on running Boston again. But then I was contacted by [Abbie’s father] Stephen Benford,” McLean said. She had been trying to run for the Benfords for three years.
KeepSmilin4Abbie aims to educate people about the dangers of anaphylaxis and ultimately find a way to prevent it from occurring altogether. Anaphylaxis, or anaphylactic shock, is a type of extreme allergic reaction to food or environment. Devices such as EpiPens already exist for immediate treatment.
“One of the big things that my fundraising for the marathon is going toward is an early detector device for anaphylaxis. The foundation is partnering with the Wyss Institute at Harvard University to produce Project ABBIE, which is a wearable device for detecting anaphylaxis,” McLean said.
McLean raised around $6,700 for KeepSmilin4Abbie. The team needed to raise a minimum of $5,000, but the goal was to raise $10,000. All this money is going directly to the foundation, she said.
In high school, McLean ran an 11-minute mile. She would often talk about running in the Boston Marathon, though her peers did not believe her, she said. On Monday, she ran 26.2 miles at a pace of 10 minutes, 18 seconds per mile, finishing the race in four hours, 29 minutes. She credits this feat to joining the cross country team in her senior year of high school. She is proof, she said, that anyone can do it.
“I proved those people wrong,” McLean said. “I was not in shape for a lot of my life and you just have to push yourself. And if you think you can do it, you can do it.”
For McLean, running is a mental sport. When McLean ran the Charleston Marathon in South Carolina in January, she struggled with the lack of community support. This is not a problem in Boston, she said.
“There are certain parts along the route that you really expect people, like the ‘scream tunnel’ … It’s just like a bunch of women standing along the route with signs, and they’re yelling and cheering you on and it’s so fun and incredible,” McLean said. “Then, of course, when you’re coming through Kenmore there’s so many people you can’t even see faces.”
McLean said the support runners find at the Boston Marathon is incredible.
“There’s nothing like being supported by a whole state of people,” she said.
Sam DePalma
When Samuel DePalma entered BU’s College of Engineering as a freshman, it was his goal to qualify for the Boston Marathon before he graduated. Four years later, as a senior, he’s done just that.
DePalma is a former president of BU’s Running Club and has competed with the club in cross country and track races for the last several years. In October of 2016, DePalma completed the Hartford Marathon in two hours, 55 minutes, allowing him to qualify for the Boston Marathon. He completed Monday’s race in two hours, 59 minutes.
“I’m kind of competing with [the Running Club],” DePalma said. “‘We don’t have an official marathon team or anything, but I feel like I’m representing them.”
DePalma started running in college because he relished the challenge. Preparing himself to be ready for Monday’s race has been a process months in the making, but at this point, he is ready for the challenge, he said.
“Physically it’s always difficult too, but I think mentally you have to really grind it out,” DePalma said. “I think that’s another reason why I like it. It’s a challenge. I think it kind of keeps you focused. I think that’s the most challenging part.”
DePalma, a native of Southbury, Connecticut, grew up not being fully aware of the magnitude of the Boston Marathon. In his time at BU, he has found it to be something important to the BU community and the running community. That, he said, was a part of what compelled him to run.
“It goes right through campus,” DePalma said. “[It’s important] not just for the city of Boston but for the running community in general around the world. I think just being a part of that community of runners and getting to experience that is really what I’m looking forward to the most.”
DePalma is a seasoned runner, but he said he thinks marathons are for anybody ready to dedicate themselves to a goal, even one as large as running just over 26 miles.
“If you’ve never run before, I don’t think it’s the first step, but … I don’t think it’s too daunting for anyone,” DePalma said.
An exciting part of marathon running for DePalma is the challenge to get to the finish line. Determination and drive are the keys to finishing the race.
“If you put your mind to it, you’re committed,” DePalma said. “I think it’s a great thing to go out and try to accomplish.”
Jackie Cummings
Monday marked Jacqueline Cummings’ first marathon.
Cummings works as an admission and financial aid counselor in the College of Communication. She found her way to the Boston Marathon through friends and the Museum of Science in Boston.
Cummings has been raising money and training through the Museum of Science’s participation in the Marathon Coalition. As of Friday, she is close to her goal of raising $7,500 for science research. Overall, Cummings estimates that over $100,000 has been raised for the Museum.
The community aspect of training for such a challenging athletic enterprise was one of the most enjoyable parts of the process, Cummings said.
“Every Saturday morning, I would wake up and go train, and it was just a lot of fun,” Cummings said. “It’s nice to have a group of people that are running in the middle of February, and it’s freezing cold outside, it’s like seven in the morning, and you have to run 15 miles. So that was a really, really good part of the experience.”
Like many others, Cummings said this has been a life-long goal.
“I’ve always wanted to do it.” Cummings said. “I’ve lived in Boston and Massachusetts my whole life, so it’s been a goal, and I’ve done a couple half marathons at this point so I’m really excited to do a full one.”
Cummings said she may not participate in the marathon again after Monday’s race. Running 26 miles in one day is a daunting task and she said she does not know if she will be ready again. For Cummings, accomplishing the feat once may be enough.
“You can say you’re a Boston Marathon finisher for the rest of your life.” Cummings said.
Cecilia Yudin
This year, Cecilia Yudin competed in the Boston Marathon to try to put an end to homelessness.
Yudin has been the assistant director to the Undergraduate Academic and Career Development Center at the Questrom School of Business for four years. She has run both the Chicago and New York City marathons, but after 13 years in Boston, this is her first Boston Marathon.
“I came to BU originally for an undergraduate [degree] in CFA, so when I no longer did that as a career, I had all this energy that I didn’t really know what to do with, and marathons are kind of a way to focus that,” Yudin said. “More importantly, you set these goals which is this amazing way to test yourself and accomplish things.”
Yudin said running is selfish, in a sense. It’s the only thing she truly does for herself. But running for a cause, she said, makes training and participating in the race more communal. This way, it feels as if her family and friends are working with her, too, she said.
Yudin ran for FamilyAid Boston, a charity that supports homeless families in the Boston area. The team of just a few runners this year has raised over $104,000 for the organization. Yudin herself raised just over $9,000, surpassing her original goal of $7,500.
“I’ve lived in Boston for 13 years now and homelessness has become so much more of an issue,” Yudin said. “These people are my neighbors. They’re Bostonians, so I really wanted to help. It’s been a great experience fundraising for the team.”
This was Yudin’s second time training for a marathon — she intended to run for Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital’s team in the Boston Marathon in 2014, but she broke her foot. The experience of training, she said, has been a teaching moment for her.
“How do you get yourself to run on the weekends when you don’t want to run?” Yudin said.
“I think that’s what training for a marathon teaches me. It just teaches me how to set a goal and commit to it, because you have to. I have to do these long runs or else I’m physically not going to be able to run this marathon.”
Yudin has been a spectator, a volunteer aid and now a runner in the annual Boston race. She said Monday’s marathon is an integral part of the Boston experience.
“I think about the big holidays in Boston,” Yudin said. “You could say St. Patrick’s Day, but everyone celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. Only Boston celebrates the Boston Marathon. On that one day, no matter where you are in the world, it’s Boston Marathon day.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article stated that Abbie Benford died when McLean was a junior in high school. Benford actually died when McLean was a senior. The article has been modified to correct this inaccuracy. Additionally, the amount of money McLean raised for her team has been updated, to around $6,700.
