A banana suit, a race pioneer, a mother running for a cure: 12 stories you may have missed from Marathon Monday - The Boston Globe (2024)

Who was that man running in the banana suit?

By Cam Kerry

Matt Seidel described the $20 Etsy purchase as one of the best he’s ever made.

Seidel elicited constant cheers from the crowd by sporting a head-to-toe banana costume, completing his first Boston Marathon in 2:35:38.

Why a banana?

“‘Why not?’ is a better question,” said Seidel. “I just like to have fun and it’s really fun to me how easy it is to make people smile. If wearing a banana suit for a whole marathon gets people to cheer and smile, it’s fun.”

Seidel considers himself a trail ultra-marathon runner, and is training for the Canyons Endurance Run, a 100-kilometer race in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range scheduled for April 26 and 27 near his hometown of Oakland. A 2018 graduate of Seattle University, Seidel ran on the cross country and track teams. Monday marked his fourth road marathon — and first in a banana suit.

Sidel passed three others running in banana suits and upon seeing one another, Seidel jumped up and exchanged high-fives, which he called “a blast.”

“Ironically, I don’t even like eating bananas so it’s not even a love of bananas,” said Seidel. “I just think it’s a fun imagery and loosely, I have a running crew whose unofficial mascot is a banana, so I figured the best way to represent was to don a full-body banana suit.”

Seidel tries not to take himself too seriously. He has worn the banana costume to support friends in their own pursuits and has worn shirts covered in bananas before when he runs. The suit, which went from covering his black hat on top of his head and spanned down to the top of his crew length socks, is made of breathable, lightweight fabric.

“Warm, but not incredibly hot,” Seidel explained. “I wish it was a little cooler but it honestly wasn’t too bad.”

Seidel described his experience racing Boston as something he would do again ‘in a heartbeat’. The next time he travels cross country to cross the finish line on Boylston Street, don’t expect to see him in the same attire.

“I’ve unofficially told friends that I’m retiring the banana suit after tonight, but not retiring costumes,” said Seidel.

This wheelchair pioneer has seen the Marathon come a long way

By Esha Walia

Jayne Fortson, 68, was among the first athletes to participate in the Boston Marathon women’s wheelchair division.

She traveled to Boston from Anchorage, Alaska, to support her 29-year-old daughter Leah, who was running the Marathon for the first time.

“It’s very emotional,” she said.

Fortson competed in the Boston Marathon for the first time more than 40 years ago and has completed 25 marathons, she said. The Boston Marathon officially added wheelchairs as a category in 1975.

Fortson was joined by her family, who is also in Boston to support her daughter.

“It’s wonderful to see how welcome wheelchairs are to this event,” Fortson said. “I remember especially when wheelchairs weren’t allowed in the New York City Marathon.”

‘It’s such an amazing feeling to keep coming back’

By Cam Kerry

Henry Richard couldn’t stop smiling when he got over the finish line.

Henry, the brother of the late Martin Richard, completed the course in 5:17:11, good for a 12:06 pace. It was the 22 year-old’s fifth running of Boston in honor of his brother, who was killed in the bombings 11 years ago.

“It’s such an amazing feeling to keep coming back, year after year,” said Henry. “Running alongside friends, family, and people who just want to honor the Martin Richard Foundation’s message, it’s just an incredible feeling to see that it’s not forgotten after 10 years. People still want to keep coming back to Boston, coming back to the Boston Marathon, and just running for Martin.”

Henry sported a bright yellow “MR8″ uniform surrounded by his family and friends; MR8 benefits the Martin Richard Foundation. Crowds along the course provided the team with a plethora of support.

“It’s incredible – sometimes I feel like I’m getting a little too much support and I want people to share the wealth,” said Henry. “The cheers for MR8 are just incredible and it’s what drives us to keep going forward. I had a tough day today and I don’t think I would have been able to do it without those cheers.”

Throughout his run, Henry saw many people that he’s met throughout the years and that, along with his friends and family beside him and the memory of his late brother, helped spur him over the finish line.

“It’s incredible to see people that I’ve met along the way over the past 10 years and they can’t catch me walking,” said Henry. “Once I make eye contact with them, that’s what keeps me going forward.”

Running on Dunkin’

By Daniel Kool

Joe Dallimore, a runner from Utah, is a self-proclaimed Dunkin’ fanatic.

So when he saw his family partway through the course, decked out in costumes from the now-iconic DunKings Superbowl ad, the second-time Marathon runner was thrilled.

“It was a surprise at mile 17, and he burst out laughing,” his sister Elise said.

His family stood, still suited in orange-and-pink tracksuits, waiting near the finish line around 2:20 p.m. Dallimore’s wife Wendy had the idea, and the family was thrilled to play along.

“I’m a little nutty,” Wendy said, when asked how she came up with the outfits.

Elise said she used to run marathons more than a decade ago, but had to stop due to an injury before making it to Boston.

“He’s living it for me,” she said from under a leopard-print hat. “He’s living my dream, and he didn’t even start running until he was 50.”

Joe said there are, tragically, no Dunkin’ locations back home, so “I load up whenever I come to Boston.”

He went a handful of times Sunday, and planned to hit the coffee shop again before leaving town. He kissed his wife over the barricade.

“I love them,” he said, wiping sweat from his cheek. “And I love Dunkin’ Donuts.”

Keeping a legacy alive

By Chris Serres

Robert Orell started running when he learned last year that a coworker at the Worcester middle school where he teaches was dying of breast cancer. And he hasn’t stopped running since.

On Monday, Orell is donning the initials of his coworker, Melissa Hathaway, on his jersey as he raced through the streets of Boston. Orell’s parents showed up at the starting line with a large sign saying, “You got this!” As of Monday, Orell had raised $9,300 to be donated to Boston Medical Center cancer research in Hathaway’s honor.

Hathaway died last April after a long bout with breast cancer. Before she died, she cheered for Orell at two smaller races.

“She made such a difference in his life,” said Cathy Orell, his mother. “This is Rob’s way of giving back and keeping her spirit alive.”

These French men ‘love unicorns’

By Julia Yohe

When Aurelien Avert, Guillaume Lacroix, and Guillaume Perin set out to complete the six marathon majors eight years ago, the three friends had one goal.

“We love unicorns. We said, ‘The day we’re doing Boston, we’ll have to dress as unicorns,’ and so here we are,” Perin said. “That was a dream of ours when we started the world major marathon journey.”

The three friends, who met in high school in France, now live all over the world — Lacroix in New York, Perin in Australia, and Avert in France — but they get together every year or two to work toward the ultimate target of running each of the six world major marathons.

They began in 2017 with New York, then moved on to Chicago in 2019, Berlin in 2021, London in 2023, and this year, Boston.

Tokyo’s up next, and hopefully, they’ll finish their quest next year. But for now, they’re just happy they finally got the chance to run dressed as the race’s famous mascot.

‘The kids love it’

By Ava Berger

Travis Laqua is 6′4.” But with his leprechaun hat on, he almost hits seven feet.

The 41-year-old Houston native is used to running in the heat, so he knew his velvet green shorts, long green trench coat, and scraggly beard would not deter him during his race in Boston.

“I know I can take the heat,” Laqua said. “Nobody really knows you as a regular runner, but when you’re running in costume, everyone cheers.”

Laqua has run four of his 14 total marathons in costume, decked out as Spider-Man, Superman, the Green Lantern, and the Flash.

“The kids love it,” Laqua said. “I hope I get some support because I came to support Boston.”Laqua plans to enjoy every second of the marathon, and of course, have a drink when he finishes.

“For me, it’s a 26-mile party,” Laqua said. “I hope there’s some beer. I know Bostonians love to drink.”

Turning tragedy to triumph

By Ava Berger

The Reny family had the worst day of their lives 11 years ago. But according to 29-year-old Gillian Reny, they’ve turned it into the “best.”

Audrey Epstein Reny, her husband, Steven Reny, and their daughter, Gillian, were standing at the finish line in 2013 waiting for their eldest daughter, Danielle, to finish her 26.2 miles.

When the bombs went off, the three family members sustained injuries and Gillian’s injuries were “critical,” Audrey, 59, said around 9 a.m, while watching runners board the buses at Boston Common.

The next year, the family started the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund in honor of the medical team that helped Gillian overcome her severe injuries, Audrey said.

Monday’s race is “special,” Audrey said, because the family is now celebrating a decade of the fund, which has raised $30 million for trauma innovation research at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

“It’s a day we would undo in a heartbeat, but we created something out of that tragedy that now provides hope and inspiration,” Audrey said.

Wearing bright pink “Stepping Strong” shirts, a group of 151 runners gathered at 9 a.m. outside the Starbucks at the Boston Common to take a final picture before the race.

“We didn’t know when we started if the mission would resonate with anybody, but it’s really provided a purpose for people when they’re running the marathon,” Audrey said. “It unites them and brings them together.”

Gillian, who held a large Stepping Strong sign, said it “means so much” to have such a large team running for the fund.

“It’s so nice to see such a big team show up for us and support our cause,” Gillian said.

Who’s the guy in the Narragansett costume?

By Christopher Huffaker

Allston’s Matt Charlton doesn’t work for Narragansett.

“I just do this,” he said.

Charlton bought his tall-boy suit for last year’s marathon, but he’s been handing out beers for four to five years. There are always takers, he said.

Is that ... Spiderman?

By Cam Kerry

Daniel Farrar completed the Boston Marathon in a Spiderman suit to draw attention.

Not to himself, but to his six-year old daughter, Lucy, who battles cystic fibrosis.

Farrar pledged a $135 donation for every mile run in under nine minutes, which he did 21 of. With the addition of donations, Farrar expects to raise between $4,000 and $5,000. The 36 year-old from Stonington, Connecticut finished in 3:46:38.

“She’s doing great, so I do everything that I can to raise funds and awareness and support,” said Farrar.

Farrar received cheers from the raucous supporters for the entire 26.2 miles, spurring him on. This was his first time completing the Boston Marathon, though he ran in a Spiderman costume for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC.

“I’m a huge Spiderman fan,” said Farrar. “I had it for a Halloween costume and I just decided to wear it. [It’s] A little hot today.”

Lucy had school today, so she was not in attendance. Farrar is hosting a road race next weekend in Stonington called “Laps For Lucy,” a four-mile event that between 50 to 100 people will partake in.

“She loves to see me do this stuff,” said Farrar. “I run with her when I can. She’s little, she’ll get bigger and she’ll keep on doing it.”

77-year-old Amby Burfoot finishes No. 28

By Sarah Barber

In 1968, Ambrose “Amby” Burfoot crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 17 seconds.

On Monday, the 77-year-old crossed the finish line for the 28th time.

Burfoot, who was joined after the race by his wife Cristina, completed the course in 4 hours, 59 minutes and 58 seconds. He wore bib No. 1968.

“The race was sensational and I’m very tired,” Burfoot said as he leaned against a metal barrier.

At his age, 26.2 miles is no small feat, but the biggest difference for Burfoot between the race in 1968 and the race in 2024 was his training.

“Then, I was running 100 miles a week for training, and now I’m running 15,” Burfoot laughed.

The Mystic, Conn., native’s spirits were high despite spending nearly five hours on the course in the heat. Burfoot said he’s run Boston 28 times — simply because it’s Boston.

“I keep coming back here because it’s a celebration of life,” he said. “It’s just a thrill to hit Boylston Street, to finish another one and feel that life is moving on in the right direction.”

The love for the Boston Marathon is a sentiment echoed among many that take on the course. But for a runner like Burfoot, who has nearly three decades’ worth of races under his belt, the emotion is palpable.

“It’s the tradition of the Boston Marathon, the fact that these communities have been out there for a hundred years, not just a decade or two,” Burfoot said. “They’re fantastic, they know the marathon and they honor the runners. I heard my name a lot, frankly I was looking down at the road a lot and just trying to truck on, but I heard my name a lot.”

She ran in honor of her sick son. Meet Paige Divoll.

By Chris Serres

Before the race, Paige Divoll of Andover said she will be thinking about her 6-year-old son Theo “with every single step.”

She ran the marathon in honor of her son Theo, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma — a rare form of cancer — on Marathon Monday a year ago.

Theo had a massive tumor in his abdomen that metastasized to his bones. The tumor was pushing on his kidney and major arteries causing dangerously high blood pressure. Divoll said they woke up the next day at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, with Theo as a cancer patient and she as a cancer mom.

“Running a marathon is nothing compared to what Theo has endured,” said Divoll, a former corporate recruiter who ran her third marathon. “I would run 26 miles in my hands and knees, on hot coals, and it still wouldn’t hurt as much. Theo is just trying to be a kid. He didn’t sign up for this.”

Neuroblastoma is rare — only 800 children are diagnosed with it per year in the US. Less than half of those kids have stage four or “high risk” neuroblastoma like Theo does. It has a 50 percent relapse rate for survivors. He’s undergone surgery, chemotherapy proton radiation and is in the middle of a series of immunotherapy treatments. Theo’s reaction to the chemotherapy has been so intense that he got black eyes from vomiting so frequently and this skin peeled off.

Divall said she has turned to running to keep herself sane during her son’s agonizing treatment and to find a way to help the doctors saving her son. On days that that Theo was undergoing treatment at Mass General, Divall would sometimes slide on her running shoes and go on a “rage run” along the Charles River.

In the run up to the marathon, Divoll raised $31,000 for the pediatric oncology research team at Massachusetts General Hospital. It is three times the amount she planned to raise.

“Running gives me a place to feel angry,” she said. “But when you breathe deeply and see the blue sky and hear the birds chirping … running also reminds me that life is beautiful and fragile. There is no greater sense of the beauty and awe of life than when you have your health and legs under you.”