Running with Unicorns

Feb 9, 2017

9 min read

Nearly 3,000 runners who qualified and registered to run the 2017 Boston Marathon were not accepted into the race (BostonGlobe.com). I am one of them. Running each mile in seven minutes flat for 26.2 miles was not fast enough based on my age division (Male 18-34). I have refused to let this stop me. This is my story.

In 1877 the founders of the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) selected the unicorn as their mascot. Perhaps this is the true origin where these mythical beasts were deemed "uncatchable." 133 years later, in 2010, I found myself dream-building and fantasizing about what could be.

As an avid goal setter, I have set far more big, hairy, audacious goals than I can remember. That time, however, was different. What made that planning session different was that I began to think about what I wanted to do for others. On that day, I dreamed about taking my family all over the world to experience other cultures and to discover new adventures. Knowing my father however, I knew that the only way that this could work was if there was a marathon in this exotic land. Like the time when I lived in Spain. When he and my step-mother, Stacey, came to visit. They flew to Rome first to run the Rome Marathon and then they took the hour flight to come visit me in Valencia. I couldn't believe it. They had found a way to see the entire city of Rome in only a few hours, and I had been there three times and still hadn't covered the ground that they did.

There it was. I was going to travel the world running marathons with my father! The only problem I saw at the time was that many of these major marathons require qualifying times, which means I would have to be able to sprint 26.2 miles to enter the race. Who in their right mind is able to sprint twenty-six point two miles? Well my father, for one, at the age of 68 is able. Finishing first place in his age division (M65-68) and qualifying for these global races has become somewhat expected by those who know him. When asked how he does it, he humbly says the secret to his success is that he just keeps running. Most people his age have stopped running a long time ago.

I had my goal. I created my plan and off I went. What I wasn’t prepared for, was the very next month, my wife and I were in a nearly fatal car wreck. Fortunately, she and I both walked away with only cuts, bruises and severe cases of whiplash. Only the ‘96 Honda Prelude was unrecognizable. After three months of recovery, I was more inspired to qualify for Boston than ever, but I didn’t do anything about it. I had begun running again but it was off and on, nothing that resembled marathon training. Later that year my older brother, David, qualified for Boston by running the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon in 3 hours 10 minutes and 40 seconds. My father also qualified for Boston in that same race. As I mentioned, my father pretty much qualifies in his sleep. Even though my father has qualified for Boston more times than he can count, he had never been, but once David qualified, the planning for the trip began.

Off we went, just the three of us. Just like I had imagined, except that my brother and father would be running and I would be on the sidelines, cheering. It was agreed, that if and when I were to qualify, we would all return. Needless to say this trip solidified my commitment and fueled my desire to BQ in less than three hours, which equates to 6 minutes 52 seconds per mile. Remember when I said sprinting?

Upon my return, my training began. I decided that my first marathon would be in October 2013 and it would be the same marathon in which my family had qualified in the year prior. As time passed I found my body had trouble keeping up with my ambition as I was plagued with injury after injury. This forced me to push my marathon back a year until 2014.

When the time came for my debut marathon, It was a family affair. I was joined by father, step-mother, brother, cousin and my wife, Emily. When the gun went off I was filled with excitement, optimism and a hint of doubt. Doubt that had been present since I declared my goal four years earlier. Can I do this? Am I good enough? Did I do enough? What if I don’t do it? Granted, leading up this point my confidence in myself had grown significantly over the previous 10 months because I had given up drinking alcohol, coffee, and animal products. I was now a vegan. My courage was measured by my willingness and openness to share my lofty goals publicly. Verbalizing my desires was something that I kept close to my chest in the beginning because I feared that others would confirm my insecurity by telling me that I couldn’t do it. To my surprise, as my training progressed, it didn’t matter what people had to say, because deep down, I knew it was possible. “If I do what they did, I’ll get what they got,” is what I would say to myself thinking about others who have accomplished this feat. When it was all said and done, I did not finish within my desired time...but I came close. My step-mother qualified for Boston, and guess who else - that’s right, my father.

After my debut, I was elated and I just knew that in my next marathon I would accomplish what I had set out to do. Seven months passed and I

showed up to my second marathon in June 2015 without training and about 20 pounds heavier. “It’s a downhill marathon, it will be easier.” Excruciating would be an understatement for how I would describe showing up to a marathon out of shape and without training for it. I walked away with two lessons learned that day. You see, after my first marathon, as an act of celebration I decided to eat meat. Remember, I was a vegan at that time and it soon became a thing of the past. For those seven months, I had begun eating meat and drinking everything in sight. Once I had completed this second race, lugging those extra pounds for over 26 miles was enough for me to realize that I was finished with meat for good. At the time of this blog, I have been a vegetarian for two years and loving it. Before, I had temptations of foods I had grown to love. Today those temptations are replaced with the love of fruits and vegetables. My second lesson learned was to respect the distance. I thought that I would just show up and execute. Legend has it that the first person to run the distance was a messenger traveling between Athens and Marathon. He died! Fortunately, I survived. However, my second lesson, like this poor courier, was short lived because later that year I would run three more marathons, where I didn’t train for any of them. However, my father would also run each of these marathons and continue to BQ.

At the end of 2015, I still hadn’t hit my goal but I had run five marathons within my first 12 months! That is something I never would have imagined, not to mention that one of those marathons is ranked the second toughest marathon in the world, (Pikes Peak Marathon, Manitou Springs, CO). But I still hadn’t hit my goal. My goal was BQ in less than three hours in my first marathon. At that time, I remember being faced with making a decision. I could either call it quits and move on to my next goal or this time get serious. “Great job, Matt. Five marathons in one year. Not everyone can do that,” I could hear people saying trying to ease my pain if I chose to retire my Newtons. Then one day, as I was writing down my Master List of Goals on my Wheel of Life, I noticed something. After everything was written down in every area of my life, I noticed that there were three goals that had been appearing on this To-Do list for the past several years now and had not be completed. But the one that stood out the most was qualifying for Boston under three hours. That’s when I thought to myself, “Matt, how do you expect to achieve any of these other lofty goals if you aren’t willing to do what it takes on this one that is right in front of you right now?”

A decision was made. A new found glory was discovered; this was my chance for redemption. I made a commitment to myself to clear out the distractions in my life. Every moment of each day was now intentionally spent focusing around these three neglected objectives. I spoke with my brother and he too was committed to running a sub-three marathon.

This time everything changed. My commitment changed. My discipline changed. My consistency changed. For 19 weeks, I trained six days per week. At 33 years of age, I had become the strongest I had ever been in my life. With six weeks to go, David and I entered a marathon as a “training run.” We both finished about 3 hours and 10 minutes. We both knew that we were ready.

On June 12, 2016, my father, David and I got on the bus to take us to the starting line at 4:00 am. Right before the gun went off, we gave our hugs to one another and wished each other good luck. David and I ran together in the beginning but soon separated to run our own race. The thing that I have grown to love about running, is that it is not about competition with anybody else. Success is only measured against what you believe is possible for yourself. If it’s competition that you seek, you will find it within yourself. When the dust settled, David finished in 2 hours 58 minutes and 38 seconds, I finished at 3 hours 3 minutes and 45 seconds, and my father finished at 4 hours 20 minutes and 39 seconds.

I did it! I qualified for the Boston Marathon. I needed to run faster than 3 hours 5 minutes to enter. However, once registration for the 2017 Boston Marathon closed, myself along with 2,956 other runners were notified that we were not accepted because then B.A.A. had already met their course capacity and only had room for approximately 7,000 charity runners. I have since decided to enter as a charity runner and support a great cause with the 26.2 Foundation. This means that they only way I can enter this year's Boston Marathon is if I raise funds for a local charity. If you would like help me, please feel free to donate any amount, by clicking here (more information below).

After two years, I have successfully completed 10 marathons! Eight of those marathons included my father. I am writing this today to share with you that I finally realized why it has taken me seven years and ten marathons to get into Boston. My entire journey I knew that it was possible to qualify for Boston. I, however, had this lingering voice inside my head. “I didn't believe that it was possible for me.” I had realized that as subtle as that voice was, it was infecting every area of my life. Spreading doubt and fear over thoughts of happiness and love. After what I have allowed myself to overcome, those thoughts are now gone. I have discovered that they only way to fail is to quit on myself and my dreams. I have learned that I am worthy and capable to become anything I choose. I have learned that the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. I have learned that this journey was never about hitting a goal. This journey was about spending time with you Dad. I love you.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for your consideration to support a great cause. Please see below for more information on how to contribute.

26.2 Foundation Mission Statement

The 26.2 Foundation, dba Hopkinton Athletic Association, is a philanthropic non-profit 501(c)3 organization with community roots in Hopkinton, MA and international reach. We make investments in programs that promote education, fitness and health. We also create and lead international programs that promote economic and business development, local and international academic initiatives and government relations.

Our mission is to promote and support the sport of marathoning, as well as health, wellness and economic development initiatives through strategic investments in innovative, multi-generational programs on local, regional, national and global levels.

A few examples of the programs the 26.2 Foundation has granted funds to in the recent past include a multi-year commitment to the Hopkinton Special Olympics, the Hopkinton Council on Aging, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the East Coast Jumbos (a hockey program for youths with special needs), The Angel Fund (for ALS research), the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the "Marathon Fitness Challenge," (an innovative fitness program for 2nd and 3rd grade students), Dreamfar High School Marathon Team (an organization whose vision is to give at-risk high school students the tools to succeed in school and beyond by training to run a marathon), various youth athletic and educational programs, and cultural arts programs.

Click here to learn more about the 26.2 Foundation