Boston Marathon: Cape and Islands runners grateful to get back on track

Richard Houston, center, pictured here training with a group back in April 2019, is looking forward to Monday’s Boston Marathon. Merrily Cassidy/Cape Cod Times File

Richard Houston, of Harwich, will be running in his 26th consecutive Boston Marathon and 33rd overall on Monday. Houston ran cross country in high school and college and started running the Boston Marathon right out of college. 

As a retired history teacher who taught at Monomoy, Houston runs this race because of its history. His longevity and consistency have earned Houston a spot in the “Quarter-Century Club,” which is for participants that have competed in the Boston Marathon 25 or more times.  

“The club was organized by a long-time runner and when he organized it, it was basically anybody that has done the race 25 times, whether 25 in a row or 25 total,” Houston said. “The BAA, which is a separate organization, allows you to automatically reenter as long as you keep your 25-race streak going consecutively, so you no longer have to hit the qualifier standard.” 

The 125th Boston Marathon 26.2-mile course will return to in-person for the first time since April 15, 2019, and roughly 90 runners from the Cape and Islands have been warming up. Last year, the race was held virtually due to the pandemic and participants ran their own courses and submitted their results through various phone applications.

The Boston Athletic Association (BAA) announced that entrants will need to either provide proof of vaccination or produce a negative COVID-19 test in order to participate because masks will not be required. Although the race is back in-person on Monday, the virtual version was offered as an option Friday through Sunday.  

Harold Robinson of Centerville will be running his 27th consecutive race this year. Robinson ran with a friend in the Lowell Marathon in the 1990s and both qualified for Boston. They ran Boston together and ever since, Robinson had been “hooked.” Friday, he completed the virtual race, but hadn’t decided as of Friday whether to run the in-person race, which holds a special meaning for him.  

“They have a fire alarm box at the Wellesley Center and my father, who passed away, waited for me at the box every time I ran,” Robinson said. “I can’t go through Wellesley Center without shedding a tear and choking up.”  

Janet Kelly of Orleans will be running in her 20th Boston Marathon and started running because she quit smoking and was looking for a way to lose weight. She said last year's virtual race was awful because she was alone.  

“Being back in person is going to be fantastic because I did last year’s all by myself on the Cape Cod Rail Trail,” Kelly said. “I am just looking forward to running with thousands of people around me and seeing all my friends on the course because after doing it 19 times, I know where my friends are going to be.” 

Dan Somes of Centerville ran his first Boston Marathon two years after the bombing in 2013.  

“I caught a glimpse of what happened after the bombing and it inspired me to go run it once,” Somes said. “Once I ran it once, I just kept going back. I love running that course, I love the atmosphere and the energy is outrageously fantastic when you're out there running.” 

Amy Woods of Brewster will run in her first in-person Boston Marathon on Monday. She participated in the virtual race last year. Until she qualified for Boston in 2018 during the Rehoboth Beach Delaware Marathon, Woods hadn’t considered running Boston. 

“I was a late bloomer as a runner, so I didn’t grow up looking at the Boston Marathon as a goal,” Woods said. “So, when I qualified, I was like oh my gosh, I qualified for Boston. I do know the history of Boston and its significance, and they have the best crowds in the entire world. It's an honor to run Boston and I’m truly grateful that we are finally having it.”