Hopkinton
In the third of our Boston Marathon City and Town Series, we head to the start of the race to hear from Hopkinton resident Peter LaGoy and his decades of marathons; and learn more about the Ashland Emergency Fund and the great work they do in the community.
Completing a sub-3-hour marathon is a huge achievement for anyone, but completing one every decade starting in the 1970s and continuing through the 2020s is a feat of very few. One of them is Peter LaGoy who at the age of 65 is showing no signs of slowing down. As of 2020, Peter joined an elite club of only three runners having achieved this, with around 40 runners having achieved the five-decade streak to date.
Peter explains his long-time connection to the Boston Marathon saying, “I ran Boston in 1995, 1998, 2010 and I will be lacing up to run it again this year.
“I've always known Boston was special, but I really started to appreciate how iconic the race was once I moved to downtown Hopkinton and watched runners from all over the world wander through our small downtown in the days before the marathon, apparently in awe of the event. I've come to realize what a goal qualifying for Boston is for many people and how hard it is when they just miss out on this goal. I am fortunate that I can qualify each year through my good genetics! Whether I run it or not, I get the Boston experience every year because of where I live. Runners stop by the house prior to racing, and I love the energy that fills the town of Hopkinton over the weekend and on race day."
For someone who has set such a high standard for their own running career, what is next for Peter?
“Besides being healthy to run Boston this year, I don't have any clear running goals at this point. Cross country season is my favorite racing season, and a general goal is just to be in shape in the fall for those races.”
Does Peter have any words of wisdom for those of us in awe of his decades in the sport?
“The longevity is a function of enjoying running and how much better I feel mentally and physically when I am running. The pace is the result of good genetics and enjoying doing well in races. In order to do well, it requires pushing myself a bit in training and that helps maintain my pace.”
Ashland
The Ashland Emergency Fund will be represented in the marathon this year to help them raise funds for their vital community work. As the name suggests, they support residents with financial hardships as a result of an emergency through a grant program. It has been in operation since the 1980s and what started in the basement of the Town Hall has grown to a virtual operation with a large space for a food pantry in the community center on Rte. 135.
Money raised through the Boston Marathon will go directly to their food pantry as the demand for this resource more than doubled from 2022-2023 and it continued to increase exponentially last year.
Nadine Nesbitt, Vice Chair of the Ashland Emergency Fund said, “The money we raise through the Boston Marathon is critical to our operation. For the first 30 years we had annual fundraisers like auctions, Halloween coin drives, raffles, collection buckets at our local stores and a fundraising team who all would spend lots of time raising these much-needed funds. It takes tremendous amounts of time and energy, so this one event means a huge amount to us and allows us to support many residents with the food bank."
“Each year our residents and their friends and families show up on race day and pack Route 135 to cheer on all the runners and participants. Knowing we were once the official start of the marathon route, we collectively show our pride and support of a great event. We have many volunteer organizations who give their time to set up water tables and other support. To know that funds being raised are helping our residents who are in need just makes the proud smiles even larger."
“We want to thank all the Boston Athletic Association for the energy and time they spent in making this a world class event. We know that thousands of hours are required behind the scenes, and we are filled with gratitude to all the staff and volunteers."