A Devoted Doctor

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Over the last five decades, plenty has changed about the Boston Marathon, including its size and its sponsor.

Yet one constant remains: Dr. Lyle Micheli.

The orthopedic surgeon — director emeritus of sports medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital — first volunteered on the medical team in 1975. Since then, he has returned faithfully every year to treat spasms, sores, and, in 2013, much worse. Micheli’s work landed him a formal designation, one he prefers to downplay: longest-serving Boston Marathon volunteer ever.

“It’s a way of helping the city,” he says, “when Boston is on full display.”

From his post on Boylston Street, Micheli, now 82, has watched the race evolve. It ballooned from 1,100 runners his first year to more than 30,000 today. Officials swapped out beef stew for PowerBars at the finish line. And a single medical tent grew to 26 stations positioned along the course.

Micheli initially volunteered alongside six physicians. Now, some 1,900 people volunteer in a medical capacity — including massage therapists, trainers, nurses — and “sweep team” helpers look for injured runners. (In the ’80s, Micheli’s daughter was one of the first sweep team volunteers.) They staff stations from Hopkinton to the Back Bay and many convene at 7 a.m. the morning of the race to discuss the weather and the wind — “whether we’re going to expect hypothermia or hyperthermia,” Micheli says.

Since 2013, the casualties from the bombing have been at the front of his mind. That April, Micheli — a Vietnam War veteran — was helping someone when he recognized the smell of gunpowder. The medical team pulled down parts of the barricade, built makeshift tourniquets with running jackets, and tried to save as many lives and limbs as they could.

Micheli vowed to be at the finish line again in 2014, and he was. This year will be his 49th. “I’m just happy to still pitch in,” he says.