‘We’re in uncharted territory’
Boston Marathon record-long ‘streaker’ might not race after serious bike wreck
The Boston Marathon “streaker” with the longestever Boston finish streak may not make it to the Hopkinton start line next month after suffering serious injuries in an accident.
Ben Beach, 72, tells the Herald that his streak since 1968 is in jeopardy due to a recent bike accident. The Bethesda, Md., resident broke a bone in his neck and was bleeding in his brain following the wreck.
“I’m just going to have to see how things go, see how my body recovers from it, and see what the doctors say,” Beach said about a month out from Patriot’s Day.
“We’re in uncharted territory right now,” he said of the possibility of missing a Boston Marathon for the first time in 55 years. “I’ve never been in this situation before, but I plan to do whatever I can to be ready, and I hope things work out.”
With 54 consecutive Boston Marathons under his belt, Beach has the longestactive and longest-ever Boston finish streak.
He’s also fast approaching the record of 58 total Boston finishes set by twotime champion Johnny Kelley; the champ started in 61 races, finished in 58, but they weren’t all consecutive.
“After more than a half century of this, you inevitably deal with all kinds of challenges,” Beach said, noting his knee and hamstring issues, along with being diagnosed with the movement disorder dystonia two decades ago.
During a recent 15-mile bike ride, Beach is not exactly sure what happened but he assumes a rough patch in the road caused him to have a nasty fall.
The next thing he remembers is waking up in the emergency room with several injuries, including a fractured C5 bone in his neck and bleeding in his brain. He needed stitches and hit his left eye pretty hard but didn’t lose any vision.
“I didn’t break any legs, so that was fortunate,” Beach said. “And my brain is still operating in the manner of a 72-year-old brain.”
“But I’ll need to get an MRI as we get closer to see what the MRI and my doctor say,” he added. “For now, I’m riding on an exercycle and elliptical trainer, and I’m walking to try to keep my fitness reasonable.”
His streak started when Beach was 18 years old — a year after he tuned into the radio for the Boston Marathon while attending boarding school north of the city.
He recalled how the marathoners were running in horrible, sloppy conditions.
“They were running 26 miles in 35 degrees and sleet,” Beach said. “I thought it was such a bizarre idea, and thought I would do it myself the next April. And I got hooked on it.”
That first time he crossed the Boston Marathon finish line is still his most memorable race moment. He remembers the announcer calling out his name as thousands of fans cheered for him.
“I didn’t know I could run that distance,” Beach said. “I was just over the moon about the whole thing.”
“I was pretty beat up, and definitely not saying, ‘I can’t wait for next year,’ ” he added. “But eventually, I decided it would be worth doing again.”
Then the dystonia diagnosis “came out of nowhere” 20 years ago. The movement disorder has caused him to no longer get a full running stride from his left leg, which means his pace has slowed down.
He expected that the disorder would have triggered constant injuries, but his body has adapted and he can still run.
“I thought that (dystonia) would be the ending of my running, but somehow I’ve managed to keep bumbling along,” Beach said. “So I hope that luck stays with me. And if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. I can’t complain. When the end comes, it comes.”