Brian M. Richards
Hopkinton to Copley Square
September 19, 2004
On my drive up to Hopkinton I ran into what remained of hurricane Ivan, with
heavy rains all the way up from New Jersey. Even with brand new tires on my car
I found myself hydroplaning on the New York Thruway at 50 MPH. I arrived at
Wellesley High School, the start point for the 13.1 mile walk, at 2:30 PM. I got
together with members of the staff, and bought some Jimmy Fund souvenirs. I met
a most interesting man at the pasta dinner. This gentleman was getting ready for
his eleventh walk, having started the first ten from Hopkinton, with finishing
times of five hours and 15 minutes. I’m thinking there are runners that do not
run a marathon this fast. It takes me more than eight hours to finish it. He
then told me due to a heart attack nine weeks ago and having a pacemaker
implanted into his chest he was forced to start off at Wellesley. I felt guilty
at cracking jokes in prior Jimmy Fund walks towards the Wellesley walkers, and
vowed no more jokes or derogatory comments at the Wellesley walkers.
I got up at 2:30 AM Sunday morning and got ready for the walk. The weather
forecast was for clear skies with temperature in the fifties. I decided to wear
a long pair of pants and t-shirt, and put on my 2004 Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund
Walk (BMJFW) t-shirt over the long sleeve t-shirt. I got tired of losing my left
big toenail the last two years of the walk, so I switched from my New Balance
841 (now 842) to New Balance 990, and went to a thin sock versus a thick sock.
Just as I arrived in Hopkinton I heard the song Walk Like a Man by my favorite
singing group (Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons) on satellite radio (Sirius), so
as I parked my car I went to the CD player to play the song again for good luck.
I was joking with my fellow walkers that I was doing everything against my
doctor’s orders, including drinking coffee and eating donuts. One walker said at
least I’m doing something healthy by walking. I informed that person that
initially my doctor did not want me doing the walk because I had shin splints on
my left leg. My doctor reluctantly gave permission only when the X-Rays showed
no signs of a stress facture, just early signs of arthritis and swelling of soft
tissue in the left knee. I told my doctor the Celebrex he gave me to relieve the
pain did not help, so I switched to Aleve. He told me to double up on the dose
on Aleve and seek help and drop out of the walk if the pain became unbearable. I
told my doctor I would do that unless I reached the 22-mile point, because at
that point the heart wins out over the brain. As I was getting ready to start
the walk the disc jockey played two songs of the Four Seasons sung by a
different group, Sherry and Big Girls Don’t Cry.
The official start time of the walk at Hopkinton at 7:00 AM, but I left at 5:57
AM to avoid the crunch of walkers. I had to take off my sun glasses until 6:20
AM until the sun started to come out. The first water stop was at the 2.09 mile
point. It was being manned by the Colonial Runners (www.colonialrunners.org).
We both promised to exchange pictures. At some place along the walk I met this
lovely lady who was still battling cancer. She had just finished a round of
chemotherapy and was concerned that she had a broken toe. She stubbed it hard
while getting up for the walk. This was her first walk. I told her I was walking
for my Uncle Mike, who was battling prostrate cancer, and whom I was going to
visit up in Canada in six days. We talked a while on her battle with cancer, and
then wished her luck at the next water stop, where she sought medical treatment.
One of the big morale boosts of the day were a group of young girls cheering the
walkers on. I talked to one of the adults that was with the girls and she told
me they sold lemonade all summer so they could meet the minimum required for the
walkers to participate, and were planning on walking in at the 23 mile point
from Dana Farber to the finish line. I told the chaperone that this reminded me
of my days with the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), and thanked her and the girls very
much for being there.
I didn’t know if it was a precursor of things to come, but somewhere near the
9-mile point Frankie and the boys made their appearance, as I thought of one of
their songs, Big Man in Town. I realized something was wrong at the half way
point (13.1 miles into the walk) as I could feel my heels blistering up. I sat
on a bench in down town Wellesley and pulled off my sneakers and socks. My socks
were soaked in sweat. It made no difference that the socks were made of Cool
Max, as once they are soaked they can no longer wick away sweat from your feet.
I cursed my self silently for not carrying extra pairs of dry socks, and wished
a store was open so I could buy new socks and a pair of 842 New Balance
sneakers. I decided I was going walk the extra half mile at the 14-mile point at
Wellesley for medical help. I was sorely disappointed at the medical facilities
at Wellesley High School, as they had very few supplies, especially Vaseline and
mole skin. I received a little bit of Vaseline, which I put on my heels, put on
my socks and sneakers, and went to have some lunch. I started thinking there was
no way I was going to finish this walk with over 12 miles to go being in such
pain. I decided to go into survival mode and think about my music that gave me
an escape route from reality after my mother died in 1964. Two songs that ran
through my mind were walk Like a Man and Big Man in Town. My mind alternated
between my music and thoughts of my Uncle Mike, who almost died this past spring
to cancer. I was hopping I could withstand the pain and make it through the
walk, but I knew the odds were against me.
At the 18-mile my left shoulder, the one with the prosthesis, was acting up. My
left arm was going numb, and my left hand was swelling up. This happens now and
then since my operation in 1998 to replace the ball of my shoulder. My feet were
on fire, and my socks were soaked in blood by the time I got to the 22-mile
point. That was the point in 2001 walk were medical wanted me to drop out, but
seeing Boston in the skyline my heart overruled my brain. I asked the disc
jockey to play something by Frankie Valli, and he complied playing Big Girls
Don’t Cry. There was no way I was going to face my Uncle Mike and tell him I
quit, when I knew I was fully capable of finishing the walk.
I kept repeating the words of Big Man in Town “I’m gonna make it, just wait and
see” over and again, with thoughts of my Uncle Mike in my mind. I was hoping for
a morale boost at the last water stop. One thing I’ve noticed since the 2001
Walk is the water stops were not as decorative as in years past. The only
corporation that maintained a decorative booth this year was Cape Cod Potato
Corporation. The most decorative water stop was the last one maintained by TJ
Maxx. Unfortunately, TJ Maxx did not maintained the booth this year, so it was
not as decked out like in years past. I knew I made it when I saw the famous
Citgo sign, which can be seen at the 25-mile point. As I was approaching the
final quarter mile I looked up into the skies and thanked my loved ones who died
of cancer for being with me in spirit. My four year record of finishing all 26.2
miles is intact. I hope my Uncle Mike was proud of me today, as I am proud of
him of continuing his fight against this dreaded disease. My 2004 Boston
Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk is dedicated in honor of Michael McKinnon, the best
uncle a person can have. “I love you Uncle Mike”. Until next year. Thank you and
may God Bless.
Brian M. Richards.
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