| Going the distance
Watertown marathoners run for research, repeats
By Pat Healy Quite a few Watertown residents will be wearing numbers at the starting line this of the Boston Marathon this Monday. Many are first-time marathon runners, running in support of the American Liver Foundation and one is an old pro. Bruce Migell, trustee of the Watertown Savings Bank and president of Atlantic Battery Company in Watertown will be running for the 32nd year in a row. He said his interest in marathoning began in 1970 at age 37 when he decided it was time to “get in shape” by jogging around the track at the Newton YMCA. He said he has been running ever since just to stay in shape. If you’re too lazy to do the math, Migell is 69 years young. Since 1970 he has completed more than 80 marathons worldwide including the London, Paris, Madrid and Switzerland Marathons, and has completed 1,300 road races overall. No matter how often he runs the Boston Marathon though, he said there is always something unpredictable about it. “There are only about five people in the world who have run this race more than I have, which shows you how few people return” he said. “Every Boston Marathon you’re nervous, and you’re never sure what’s going to happen because in a race that distance anything can happen.” Migell, whose best time is under three hours, qualifies for the race on his own, but first-time runners often need sponsorship to wear a number in the race. The American Liver Foundation’s “Run for Research” team has about 250 members, including six Watertown residents. By raising money for the ALF participants are guaranteed a number. If a prospective runner does not meet a standard qualifying time (determined by age) in another certified marathon, he or she needs to have sponsorship. Elizabeth Roche, public relations and community events coordinator for the ALF, said each runner must raise at least $2,500, and the group hopes to raise over $1 million this year. Runners who run for the ALF also get to meet a patient struggling with some form of liver disease in the “Patient Match” program. Lara Blakey, who is running her first marathon this Monday said meeting her patient match has been one of the most rewarding experiences of the whole process of getting involved with the Boston Marathon. “Getting to see first-hand who I’m helping has really inspired me,” she said. Peter Mooradian, also a Watertown resident, and also a first-time marathoner, considers himself his own patient match. In August, while undergoing treatments for the liver disease Hepatitis C, he made up his mind that he was going to beat the disease and do something for the ALF. Mooradian said the treatments, not unlike chemotherapy made him feel like he had the flu for a year, so he wanted to do something about it. “I was sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he said. So he went down to the Watertown track and ran one quarter-mile lap. He continued doing this daily and every two weeks he would add another lap until he was able to run three miles at a time. And when he finished therapy in December he began training seriously for the marathon. “It was like a switch went off,” he said of finishing treatment and beginning the rigorous training. Most members of the “Run for Research” team train together, which Mooradian said made all the difference in the world in his discipline. “It’s a lot easier training for a marathon when you know you’ve got to meet somebody there,” he said. “There were a lot of days where there was no way in hell I would have been out there running by myself.” Sheri Olivet-Gallo, another Watertown resident, first-time marathoner and “Run for Research” team member agreed. “I could never have done this much without the team,” she said. “I definitely needed the support they gave. It’s no wonder people put themselves through things like this when they have such a great support system, because you’re not going through it alone.” In addition to the scheduled training twice a week “Run for Research” participants are provided with gear and the services of a physical therapist. Olivet-Gallo, whose teammates have nicknamed her Ollie, said Monday may very well be the biggest day in her life so far. “If I can finish this, I can probably finish anything in my life,” she said. Mooradian agreed. “You learn a lot about yourself,” he said of both his experience with marathon training and liver disease. “They say adversity doesn’t build character, it reveals it, and that’s what I think too.” Other Watertown residents running in this year’s marathon include Patricia Morrison and Rob Tornai, who are both returning members of the “Run for Research” team. |
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