Bruins legend Zdeno Chara enjoys long runs
He was on the ice for three iconic Boston moments – two playoff overtime goals and raising the Stanley Cup higher than it had ever been lifted.
But Zdeno Chara’s first appearance in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, for his debut Boston Marathon made an immediate impression.
“It’s an absolutely nuts atmosphere, which was very overwhelming at the beginning of the marathon,” the former Boston Bruins captain said in a standalone interview at a Bruins watch party in Salem last month. “I didn’t expect that.”
Chara’s Boston Marathon a year ago was not a one-off celebrity effort. He ran five more 26.2-milers, a 50-kilometer race and a triathlon in 2023. An impressive first full year of “retirement.” Just three years from earning AARP discounts, the man known as “Big Zee” has more mileage planned for 2024 after an impressive rookie year.
Just six days after running Boston, Chara will begin the overseas portion of his race schedule at the London Marathon. He also has a triathlons planned for Germany and Sweden.
The man who retired in 2022 after playing the most games (1,680) as a National Hockey League defenseman is one of two Boston icons to wear No. 33, next to Larry Bird. While many athletes go into acting, politics, show business or coaching (like Bird), Chara has charged into a post-playing career like no other.
Michael Jordan may have switched careers, taking up a new sport 30 years ago, but he was at his athletic peak at the time. Chara is 47. And getting faster.
His debut marathon at Boston resulted in a finishing time of 3 hours, 38 minutes. Nine months later, Chara clipped nearly a half-hour off, running a 3:10 in Houston, already his seventh marathon. He also has experience cramming in races into short timeframes.
He ran one in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, last Sept. 23 before completing the Maine Marathon eight days later and the Bay State Marathon in Lowell two weeks after. With a full three weeks of rest, he broke the 3:20 mark for the first time at the New York City Marathon to start November.
While he respects the marathon distance – “there’s no easy ones,” he says – Chara said that preparation is the key to his rapid improvement.
“I’m getting more used to it. And understanding what the process is like of getting short runs, tempo runs, track work, long runs,” he said. “It’s more about understanding what needs to be done to be prepared.”
McGillivray, Pizzi, Team Hoyt
His first foray into marathoning was accompanied by Dave McGillivray and Becca Pizzi, who helped the 6-foot-9 defenseman train for Boston in 2023. Longtime Boston Marathon race director McGillivray and Pizzi are known for their long-distance excellence.
Pizzi is impressed both with Chara’s ability to run 3:38 at Boston with no prior marathon experience as well as his performance in Houston in January.
“Both accomplishments were the results of what makes Zee who he is,” she said. “As a professional athlete of many years, Zee knows how to focus, train, eat and rest properly so he is in the best situation to continue to break his own personal records. He has a really strong mental game and incredible drive.”
Chara received another boost into the marathon world when he joined Team Hoyt, the foundation formed in 1989 during a career in which Dick Hoyt pushed his wheelchair-bound son Rick to more than 1,000 finishes around the world. Dick died in 2021; Rick last May.
“I got to know Rick and Dick Hoyt when I arrived in Boston. They’ve been a huge, huge impact on me as a person and me being involved in the community,” Chara said. “It’s something I want to continue to embrace. There’s not enough support that people with disabilities are getting, so I want to keep raising awareness for them and helping make life better for them.”
There may be no better way to spread the word of the foundation than having the tallest player in NHL history wearing a Team Hoyt singlet.
“His competitiveness and his willingness to give: put those two things together and there’s nothing we can’t do,” said Russ Hoyt, Dick’s son and Rick’s brother. “The ‘Yes You Can’ spirit comes through Zdeno Chara like you wouldn’t believe.”
“I’m very pleased and surprised with how the running community has welcomed me. People are always willing to talk to you and help you and give any advice,” Chara said. “It’s so nice to have so many friends who are talking to you when you first start, but then after a few minutes, it seems like you know each other for so long because they all feel like they a part of the family.”
Chara on raising Stanley Cup again: ‘It never gets old’
Chara played 14 of his 24 NHL seasons in Boston. The Marathon usually coincides with the beginning of the playoffs, but he made a point of tuning in to the annual Patriots Day run.
“I always watched it on TV. It looked really cool and amazing,” he said. “I was always wondering if I could run a marathon myself. So, yeah, I paid attention a lot.”
With a Boston run under his belt, he won’t be overwhelmed Monday when the race steps off for the 128th time, the 100th from Hopkinton. Just overjoyed. “That’s something that I won’t be surprised (at) this year,” he said of the crowds that line the course. “It’s been such a pleasure running in front of your own fans and your whole city.”
Chara’s improvement at the distance has him closing in on the magical but tough-to-break three-hour barrier, a mark that fewer than 3% of marathoners reach. Even fewer who are age 47 with countless miles on their skates.
Pizzi believes it is a club he will eventually join.
“Oh Zee is definitely knocking on sub 3 doors,” she said in an email. “In my opinion, it’s not only possible but inevitable .... it’s in his DNA to break 3 hours. It’s just a matter of time .... and miles.”
At the Bruins watch party in Salem, Chara showed up on a rainy Saturday after completing his long run. The date was March 23, three weeks from Boston, a weekend when many marathoners hit 20 miles.
He signed autographs, posed for pictures and handed out signed memorabilia during a live auction. After a pasta lunch, he sat for a seven-minute interview. The running questions answered, time remained for one about hockey.
Chara was asked about his appearance at TD Garden on March 7 with his former teammates when he again had the chance to raise the Stanley Cup – this time on home ice. The possible three-hour marathoner hardly needed three seconds to respond.
“I’ll give you a simple answer: It never gets old.”