The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
A ‘ringside seat’ for my brother’s 50th Boston Marathon in a row
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, after all of those long runs you endured on cold, desolate winter mornings for so many years, you are rewarded with a day in the sun, a basking in the glory. My brother, Ben Beach, 67, had that day this past Monday as he ran in his 50th consecutive Boston Marathon, a feat nobody had ever done before.
And how’s this for a prelude to that Patriots Day celebration: on Sunday, he had the honor of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park for the Red Sox game!
Dozens of his family members and best friends were up there to witness it all, including me. At times we were shaking our heads in disbelief. Talk about a celebrity’s weekend!
Ben couldn’t quite believe it, either. He said during a speech Monday night back at Fenway Park, while standing alongside men’s winner Geoffrey Kirui and women’s winner Edna Kiplagat: “The day in March 1968 when I called Jock Semple (the race’s director) and he begrudgingly sent me an entry form, it never occurred to me that today I’d be enjoying this moment.”
Nor could he have possibly imagined he would be offered the privilege of throwing out that first pitch in the shrine where his favorite team plays. (It’s true; our paths diverged when he went off to prep school in Massachusetts and I remained in suburban New York, close to my Yankees.)
Was he nervous about making that throw in front of all those people? As he “warmed up,” swinging his arms around next to the Red Sox dugout Sunday afternoon, he seemed pumped, ready for it. It helped that he had practiced throwing that distance with his two sons back home in Bethesda, Maryland.
We were taking it all in from the first and second rows, although our seats for the game were much farther back. Plenty of Ben’s longtime friends were standing there, next to family members that included sons Carter and Evan, their wives, Katie and Ali, Ben’s daughter Emily and her wife, Melissa, Ben’s wide-eyed 18-month-old grandson, Brooks, and Ben’s wife, Carol, who has always stood by and supported him in his half-century quest. She gets it; they met at a road race.
The Fenway Park announcer told the sell-out crowd of about 35,000: “Today, we welcome two historic runners.”
Yes, Ben had a companion to simultaneously throw out her ball to a second Red Sox player behind the plate: Kathrine Switzer.
The announcer explained this was the 50th anniversary of Switzer becoming the first woman to complete the Boston Marathon as an official entrant. But at the one-mile mark she encountered Semple, who was so enraged to see a woman in the race (they were then forbidden) that he tried to pull her off the course. Her boyfriend threw a beautifully effective body block at Semple and Switzer continued on her way.
The Fenway crowd cheered as Ben and Switzer uncorked their pitches. Ben delivered a solid offering that sailed straight and true into the glove of Red Sox catcher Brock Holt. Attaboy! No bounce!
Ben reminded me later that it was our father’s birthday; he died 12 years ago. He, too, was a Red Sox fan on account of years spent living in Boston.
“I wish Dad could have been here to see this,” Ben said.
After the game we all went over to Pizzeria Uno nearby at Kenmore Square to have a “carbo-loading” party. Ben thanked us, especially his wife and kids. He said he knew he had been very lucky to have completed 49 Boston Marathons.
I gave a short “speech,” noting I had run in three of those Boston 26-milers and so I know how tough it is to qualify in a demanding time at another marathon before you even make it to Beantown.
“Yeah, I did it three times,” I said. “Fifty times? Are you kidding me? Ben, you’re amazing!”
There has developed a Beach family tradition in recent years that Carter, Evan and Emily run alongside him for the second half of the race to offer support. Emily, who is pregnant, could not do it this year. But I decided to put on my running shoes and jump in with Carter and Evan at mile 17 in the hills of Newton.
The crowds on both sides of us were as loud and supportive as I remembered from the 1980s, perhaps more so. Many onlookers recognized Ben from all the publicity and called out to him. Others shouted in agreement with the message he wore across his chest: “No guns.” (Every year, he wears a message for a cause.)
We traversed the infamous hills of Newton, including the final of the four, “heartbreak hill.” Carter and Evan kept Ben well-supplied with water and power bars. He looked good, although he now has a hitch in his stride because of a movement disorder, dystonia, diagnosed in 2002.
While Ben looked chipper, we were all aware that at any moment his luck could run out: a bad fall, a knee giving out, a hamstring pull. Occasionally, we passed a runner sprawled on the road, surrounded by medical personnel. Ben told me later, “It was on my mind that that could be me on the ground.”
But he kept going, as he always has. At about mile 25, as we ran past Fenway Park, the crowd from that day’s game roared encouragement with thousands of others gathered in Kenmore Square.
As we neared the final turn, Ben put his hands over his face for a moment, overcome with the realization that yes, he had this, he was going to achieve number 50. Carter, Evan and I peeled off to the sideline and watched him cross the finish line.
I have to say it felt creepy and unsettling being in that area. I was standing there with my wife in 2013 when the two bombs went off, about 50 yards to our left and right. It was our great luck not to be injured. Ben and thousands of other runners were forced to stop. He couldn’t run the final mile or two but the Boston Athletic Association ruled he and others in that situation were considered finishers.
Ben’s time this year was 5 hours, 1 minute and 20 seconds. That’s about 25 minutes better than last year. He said the tailwind helped.
After the Monday night ceremony at Fenway Park, Ben told me, “It’s such a privilege I’ve had for this to be part of my life. I just feel so lucky and grateful.”
I asked him about the future. “I’ll take it year by year.” He added, as if I didn’t know: “I’m aware of the Johnny Kelley record.” Kelley completed 58 Boston Marathons, although he never finished 50 in a row.
Ben, always looking forward, has his eyes on that next prize.