When terrorists interrupted one of the most iconic days in Boston last year, terror, grief and loss swept over the nation. Two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon both frightened and unified the country. Despite all the turmoil of last year, senior Myles Parker planned on participating in this year’s Boston Marathon.
In fact, Parker said the calamity of last year’s marathon contributed to his decision in running the Boston Marathon in particular.
“If I’m going to run a marathon, I want to run the Boston one, especially with everything that happened last year,” Parker said. “That’s the idea that sparked into my mind. It would be amazing to run the marathon.”
Parker said he was not very apprehensive about the possibility of another terrifying series of events this year. He believed the race will be different this year and planned to run regardless of what happened in the past.
“It’s definitely really crazy and surreal that that happened so close to home. It’s such a widespread thing now, especially with all the Boston Strong stuff; everybody knows about it,” Parker said. “But going into this marathon, I have a feeling that it’s going to be a lot different; I know they amped up security. There’s always the possibility, but I’m not really scared.”
According to Myles’s mother, Nancy Parker, both parents supported him in spite of their fears.
“I acknowledged some fear that did come up, but I didn’t want to have that impact his goals—his dreams—in any way,” Mrs. Parker said. “I was able to quiet them down very easily.”
Although they do not have a direct connection to any of last year’s victims, Parker noted a mixture of anxiety and support from his parents.
“I bet they’re definitely somewhat nervous knowing everything that happened in that entire week,” Parker had said before the race. “But right away, they were really excited. I think they were even more excited than I was. I mostly think it’s support.”
Parker ran with Team Brookline, Brookline’s official Boston Marathon team managed by the Brookline Community Mental Health Center (BCMHC). All the money raised by Team Brookline was donated to the BCMHC, Brookline Education Foundation, Brookline Library Foundation, and the Brookline Teen Center.
Parker got involved with Team Brookline because he worked at the Teen Center over the summer and planned to raise money for the Teen Center through the marathon.
According to Parker, the decision to run the marathon was made with a few of his friends, who will be running the Providence Marathon with the Dreamfar program.
“My friends were all saying that it would be fun to run together, which is funny because they’re doing a different program than I am,” Parker said.
After running cross country in the fall and indoor track in the winter, Parker said he did not want to run with the high school for all three seasons. He decided to run the marathon as an alternative to spring track.
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy, and in some ways it’s harder than running a third season, but I felt good coming into senior year cross country and I wanted something a little more challenging,” Parker said. “I guess I wanted to challenge myself, and the marathon has always been a big goal that I’ve wanted to complete so I decided to go for it.”
Mrs. Parker was delighted with her son’s choice.
“I was proud of him for taking on such a big challenge that was optional during a busy time in his life,” Mrs. Parker said. “I was pleased that he wanted to raise money for local charities in Brookline.”
Parker trained both on his own and with his friends. He ran four times a week, doing three medium runs during the school week with rest days in between, and then a longer run on the weekend.
According to Parker, he did not have set mileages he tried to reach every week. Instead, he just chose a destination and started running.
“When I go off for a run, I have an idea of where I want to go,” Parker said. “I say that I’m going to go to this place and figure the rest out as I’m running. It’s not a planned out thing.”
Unfortunately, over the winter, Parker suffered an injury. He stretched a ligament in his left ankle and recovered in the spring, but he said it still hindered his preparation for the marathon.
“Originally, I had a set time and that goal pushed me, but now, injuries have set me back a bit,” Parker said before the race. “It’s gotten to the point where just finishing it would be great. It’s not going to hinder me a ridiculous amount, I hope, but I’m definitely not going to be in as good shape as I would be if I didn’t have the injuries.”
Despite this setback, with the support of his friends and family, Parker prepared himself to finish strong.
“I just want to calm myself down. Obviously, it’s a big event, but I don’t want to get too worked up over it that I don’t sleep or don’t eat in the morning,” Parker said. “Whatever happens happens. I’m going to be proud of myself either way.”
JK Suh can be contacted at [email protected].
