Para Athlete Start of the 2025 Boston Marathon (photo courtesy of the author)

Two days before the marathon, I chatted with fellow Para Athlete Thomas Cantara while we waited for the start of the Boston 5K. Like the marathon, the 5K is put on by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.)

A man approached. He greeted Thomas and wished him well in his race.

That man looked familiar. Thomas told me that it was Jack Fleming, the President and CEO of the B.A.A.

I want to let that sink in because I did not fully grasp it at the time. The head of the organization that puts on the prestigious Boston Marathon, who is arguably the world’s most powerful person involved in marathons, took the time to visit with athletes during his busiest weekend and greeted a Para Athlete by name and offered words of support.

This simple gesture indicates the impressive level of commitment that the B.A.A. has made towards the broader running community.

While many organizations in the United States, given the current political turmoil, have been backing off from DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives, the B.A.A. has not wavered.

All told, the Wheelchair, Duo, Handcycle, Adaptive, and Para Athlete designations accommodated 300 athletes in the 2025 Boston Marathon.

That is about 1% of the field. Yet, it is a meaningful carve-out for a race that limits the field size to 30,000 runners. Some of the other Majors (e.g. London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York City) relentlessly pursue the title of “World’s Largest Marathon” and have exceeded well over 50,000 finishers. In a few years, some of them will grow beyond 60,000 finishers.

Despite their phenomenal growth, none of the others make the broad inclusivity effort for impaired runners that Boston does.

Taylor Wilson manages the Adaptive and Para Athlete programs within the B.A.A. This includes the races of the Boston Distance Medley (5K, 10K, Half Marathon) as well as the Marathon.

I asked Taylor whether there was pressure on the B.A.A. to scale back their diversity and inclusion efforts. Taylor dismissed that idea and pointed out that the B.A.A. has a steady history of inclusivity. Adaptive runners participated as far back as 1986, the Para Athlete Division started in 2021, and in 2022, the race accepted Non-binary runners. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Wheelchair division.

In addition, Taylor mentioned some newer initiatives such as course features and signage to support deaf runners and lactation stations in the Athlete’s Village and in the Finish Area.

An entry into the Boston Marathon is a hot commodity. Many would-be runners are rather vocal about the difficulty of gaining entry. Surely there is some pressure to limit the number of runners with impairments?

Taylor said there is likely to be a limit but she has never encountered it. On the contrary, she actively recruits more athletes. She has a habit of handing her business card to anyone who appears to be a good fit for the Adaptive and Para programs.

I asked if the other majors showed any interest in following the lead of Boston. Taylor believes that Chicago might come around. That may be in part due to Chicago and Boston sharing the same main sponsor (Bank of America).

She also suggested the possibility of expanding the number of Para Divisions. A total of 18 Para classifications are supported by the B.A.A. These classifications are combined into seven divisions. If need be, classifications can be separated out to make more divisions.

Of course, word of mouth helps too. Last year was the first for the T35-T38 division. Then, only myself and three women were entered. We all helped to publicize it and this year we had three women again and seven men.

There’s a quote that is variously attributed to Socrates, Robin Williams, Ian MacLaren, and others:

“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

One way to express kindness is to learn of other’s battles.

In Copley Square on Friday, I approached a double amputee, Cedric King. He told me that he lost his legs in Afghanistan. He had two tours there and another in Iraq. Cedric has competed in Boston several times after losing his legs, sometimes in a wheelchair, sometimes using a handcycle. This year would be his second one running. “Running it,” he said, “was what made me feel as if I truly came back.”

Cedric is a humble man. He might have told me more about himself. I googled him and found that he is a popular speaker on the subject of resilience, has written a book “The Making Point” about his journey, and last year was featured on the popular Abbot World Marathon Majors podcast “Marathon Talk”.

Honestly, in Boston on Marathon Weekend, one can’t cast a glance without it landing on a hero.

I met Lisa Bostick at a Friday dinner meetup. She was walking with a cane so I asked her about it. An assault at her workplace left her with a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Her brain and eyes don’t communicate with each other well. Peripheral vision is poor so she runs with two guides.

We crossed paths again the next day after she attended the annual gathering of the Black Unicorns held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center (RLTAC) of Roxbury Community College. The Black Unicorns celebrate and connect the few hundred people of color who run in the Boston Marathon. People of color are under-represented in marathons and this is not just in Boston.

In 1921, Roxbury Community College was designated a Predominantly Black Institution. Last October, the B.A.A. announced that they would be investing more than $1 Million in a partnership with Roxbury Community College to advance athletic programming and opportunities at the RLTAC.

The Adaptive and Para Athletes gathered early race morning at the Sheraton Hotel. Buses queued outside to take us to Hopkinton.

While waiting to board the buses, I sat next to a runner, Danny Bucklew, and struck up a conversation. By coincidence, I happened to sit next to another runner in my Para division.

A few weeks before the race, the B.A.A. published their Entry List. There were four runners in my division, T35-T38. But I knew that this list was incomplete because it was likely that some Adaptive athletes would attempt classification into the Para Divisions during marathon weekend. This is what I did last year.

Adaptive and Para runners have many of the same perks: the coach bus ride to the start, dedicated holding tents in Hopkinton and at the Finish Line area, and transport of gear from Hopkinton to the finish.

Para Athletes have it better. We get our own start time at 9:50 am shortly after the elite women are sent off. And the top three finishers in the Para divisions earn prize money. There are no prizes for the Adaptive athletes and they start in the back of the first wave of qualifiers. Hence, most of us would prefer to be Para Athletes if possible. Taylor Wilson always makes the effort to have classification available during marathon weekend.

T35-T38 is assigned to athletes with “Coordination Impairment.” Several conditions, typically involving brain or spinal column afflictions, may qualify.

Danny Buckelew has Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He used to be a devoted soccer player but switched primarily to running after his diagnosis. He entertained me with stories of his friend, Bill Rodgers, the Boston Marathon legend. Wow!

I asked Danny to watch my bag while I greeted other friends. Meanwhile, Danny went to use the toilet and when he came back our seats had been taken by another runner who didn’t speak English.

I recognized him. It was Giacomo Grillo, another runner with MS running in our division. Giacomo and I raced in the Boston 5K two days earlier where he finished second to me. T35-T38 must really be getting big if everywhere I turn there is another one of us.

Before the race, at the Sheraton and later in Hopkinton, I caught up with some friends I had met over the years either in person or virtually.

Jeff Lampe lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He competes in Para Olympics skeleton races, which is like luge but face first. Last year he ran Boston and, six days later, the London Marathon.

My friend Carita Wegner from Salem suggested that I say hello to John Young, a runner of short stature. For some perspective, my marathon would require about 40,000 steps. John said he needed about 75,000.

Lisa Maciel got in touch with me in January with questions about Para classification. I helped her get in touch with Taylor Wilson. She lost her left fibula to bone cancer. The disease also damaged her right arm. She might have classified with either impairment but the arm was a bigger problem so she went with T46, upper body impairment. She won that division.

Bryon Solberg is an anomaly. Born without an odontoid bone, a condition that usually leads to early death. But at age 63 he continues to compete in marathons.

Cedric King greeted me enthusiastically as he was preparing to strap on his racing blades.

I met Jamie Bryson in person for the first time. We have been on Zoom calls together. Jamie started “The Parkinson’s Fight Club” Facebook group that advises and encourages people with Parkinson’s to stay active. He got the group of runners with Parkinson’s together for a group photo that included both of us and Cristina Burbach, Craig Revie, Greg Schaefer, Joe Barret, and Rune Bjerke (from Norway).

Cristina won the Women’s T35-T38 division last year and repeated this year. Craig ran in the Adaptive division last year and was classified for the Para Division this time. Both Jamie and Greg received the T35-T38 classification but opted to run as Adaptives.

The Para Athlete tent is in the Hopkinton town common away from the teeming Athlete’s Village. The elite runners have a tent there as well. Ash Street, adjacent to the common, is closed off from vehicle traffic to allow the athletes to prepare for the race.

Best warm up ever. I exchanged a fist bump with Paula Radcliffe, former world record holder, who had come out of retirement to earn her Abbott World Marathon Major Six Star medal in today’s race. I got a glimpse of Des Linden, a local fan favorite and winner of the 2018 race, who announced that this would be her last Boston as she enters retirement. I also met Sara Vaughn. Sara would go on to finish 20th in the race.

Heady stuff. But I decided that I should stop being a nusisance and let these ladies prepare for their race.

It was cooler this year than last. That made a big difference, the heat can be very dangerous during a marathon. I did not witness any on-course emergency medical procedures this time. As usual the route was lined with hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic spectators. Crowd support is one reason to keep coming back to Boston.

Support came from other runners as well. Para athletes wear their bib numbers on their backs as well as on their chests. The back facing bib warns faster runners to exercise caution when passing. It also appears to ellicit empathy. I heard many times “Looking good, P125”, “You got this!”, or “Keep it up!” as runners passed me.

Several very fast friends from Seattle, where I live, also greeted me on the course. Griffin Miller, Huy Son, and Peter Vosshall all chatted briefly as they flew by.

One runner yelled out, “Hey Alki Beach!” The Alki Beach trail in West Seattle is a popular spot for workouts and I often train there. I don’t know who that runner was but apparently he recognized me most likely from my trademark pink socks. We will certainly meet before too long.

It is surreal that despite the many runners easily outdistancing me, I was nonetheless in a contest for a division championship.

In all my previous marathons, I have never raced anyone. My competition had always been the clock and my own limitations.

Last year I was Champion of the Men’s T35-T38 Division only because I ran unopposed. This time I was competing against other runners.

I did not know the full extent of my competition. There could be others besides Danny Buckelew who were newly placed in the division.

I had an idea that Giacomo would be someone to watch out for. For much of the race I must have held a slight lead on him. Through the halfway point I ran at about a nine minute per mile pace. But the wheels started to come off shortly afterwards. He passed me just shy of the 22 mile mark.

I didn’t have much left in the tank but I decided to keep up with him until the end. The finish line was only a few miles away. We jockeyed back and forth a few times. He spoke to me on passing once. I could not understand his Italian though I suspected that he was asking if I was “Drake”, the guy he raced in the 5K on Saturday.

I passed him again at about 23 miles.

My championship last year was a fluke. I wanted to win it for real this time. This would likely be my last chance. I am not fast and the division is growing. If I ever compete in it again it would almost certainly be as an also-ran.

But I was fading and, frankly, not sure if there was someone in front of us who may have already taken the title. All I could do at that point was run as hard as I was able and hope for the best.

It was painful but I opened up a 3 minute lead on Giacomo. I checked the tracking app after crossing the finish line and found that I came in first.

The effort took a toll. Wobbling to the Para finish area tent, several volunteers and medics asked me if I needed help. I just smiled, waved them off, and stumbled into the tent.

I greeted Giacomo there. Though we didn’t share a language we were able to get some concepts across.

He pointed to me. “Drake?” he asked. I nodded.

“Primo?” I nodded again and pointed to him. “Secondo,” I said.

He made a face of mock exasperation and lightly swatted my head.

I figured that, with the language barrier, he might not know the routine for claiming his second place award. I showed him a photo of me holding the 5K trophy and pantomimed that he should follow me to the Sheraton Hotel where the awards were given out.

When we got there he called his wife, Clarita, and then handed me his phone. I directed Clarita to the Sheraton where she served as our translator.

Giacomo was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2011. This race was his 158th marathon or ultramarathon since his diagnosis. Amazing.

Giacomo insisted that we have a photo taken together. We now follow each other on Facebook and Strava. My daughter, Kinsey, who is fluent in Italian commented to him on a Facebook post, ”Giacomo Grillo, credo di aver trovato l’edizione italiana del mio papà.” (I think I’ve found the Italian edition of my dad.)

It is a small world. I suspect we will meet again. Giacomo is a competitor. No doubt he is eager to even the score next year. I have youth on my side though. At 66, Giacomo is two years older than me.

Giacomo (left) and I with our trophies (photo by Clarita Reali)[image error]