Mike crossed the finish line in an official time of 4:40.07

Mike reaching out to his fans in Kenmore Square

“Running in memory of my Dad was an awesome feeling. I had a ton of support from friends and family, many of whom could remember back to when it was my Dad that everyone was going to see cross the finish line. Dad definitely left some big shoes to fill. I don’t think I came close to any of his times, but I was extremely happy just to be able to be out there and finish on such a historic day.”

Michael’s training for Boston 2014 was a struggle, as he faced the adversity of a historically cold New England winter. “When I began my training in January and February, my good friend, Gena Ricciardi, would run with me on my longer weekend runs. Having someone to talk to and keep me motivated definitely helped to make those my most enjoyable runs. Unfortunately, my work schedule got in the way of our partner runs as the distances got to be more time consuming. Those runs were definitely the best while they lasted!”

Although Michael had never run a full marathon, he had run a couple of prior half-marathons, including the Cape Cod Half-Marathon and the Gloucester Holiday Merry-Thon back in December. Michael planned to run Boston in 2013, but his aspirations were put on hold due to his U.S. Coast Guard orders. His training this winter included several long runs, including a 20-miler just three weeks out from race day, which he stated was the most difficult one of them all. “I rolled my ankle about 14 miles into that run, and had a tough 6 miles back to the house. Definitely not the way I planned to wrap up my training before the big race.”

All I all, Michael felt as though he was well conditioned for this year’s race. His late-training ankle injury caused him some hesitancy on Patriot’s Day, as he felt he was not “going into the race at 100%.” However, his competitive nature and dedication prevailed. “I knew I could finish. Luckily the ankle held up remarkably well, and most of the race was an enjoyable run.”

Jaelyn Walsh waits patiently for her Uncle Mike at Mile 21

Michael had supporters on the sidelines from Hopkinton to Boston and he ran into numerous familiar faces throughout the day. “I was really lucky to have friends and family all along the race course. Some highlights of the day were running with my cousin Kyle in Wellesley,” where he joined in and ran with Michael in his business suit, “seeing the Walsh’s at BC,” where he stopped for a quick photo opp and was motivated with some Advil and Gatorade, “and coming down Beacon into Kenmore Square, where it seemed like I was seeing the familiar faces of friends and family every couple of hundred yards! Having my mother and so many other family members, as well as my father’s good friends, Dick Vitale and Gary Fox, waiting for me when I crossed the finish line was another awesome feeling. A big thanks to everyone who made it out and braved the crowds and heat that day. Marathon Monday is a long day for everyone!”

Gary Fox and Dick Vitale congratulate Mike at the finish line

Support for Michael’s achievement even continued post-race, as friends and family members gathered at the Kowloon in his hometown of Saugus to help him replenish any of the salts and fluids he may have lost earlier in the day. “It was also nice getting texts from all of my less fortunate friends and family members who were stuck at work, but tracked my progress and continued to give me encouragement along the way.”

Michael was both exhausted and elated post-race. “The feeling of having 26.2 miles behind me was incredible…a huge sense of relief. I was really excited about the accomplishment and not letting myself or anyone else down. The ensuing days turned out to be almost as painful as the race itself, but certainly well worth it!”

The John Mastronardi Memorial Fund was Boston Strong in 2014!

When asked about his thoughts on a repeat performance in the future, Michael wouldn’t count it out, but is fine with passing the baton to someone else for 2015. “I would consider doing Boston again. It is such a unique marathon and an incredible atmosphere. I don’t know that I’d want to run 26 miles in any other environment. Having so many friends and family along the way really made it an awesome experience. However even with all the support, training for a race like that is a massive commitment, so I’m looking forward to giving someone else the chance to tackle it next year!”

Congratulations to Michael on a tremendous achievement!

Your Dad is very proud!

A friend of the Mastronardi Family and a native of Tewksbury, Massachusetts, Wilson was running her first Boston Marathon. The 24-year old had previously run two other marathons, including the Quebec City Marathon and the Walt Disney World Marathon, as well as several half marathons.

Kerry Wilson

Running Boston, however, was a completely different experience for her.  “The support and cheers were amazing and so encouraging throughout the entire route,” commented Wilson.  “I stayed on the right side the entire run just giving all the spectators high-fives.”

A graduate of Tewksbury High School and Fitchburg State University, Wilson ran several of the final miles with her Dad, who jumped in to support his daughter late in the race.  Family and friends of Wilson were among the thousands who lined the course from Hopkinton to Boston.   “This was by far the best marathon I have ever run,” she said.  “Now, I don’t know if I could ever run another besides Boston.”

Due to the tragic events which occurred at the finish line on Marathon Monday, Wilson was unfortunately unable to complete the 26.2 mile course. She was safely stopped just before mile 25 and diverted to Commonwealth Avenue, with over 5,000 other runners.

The Boston Marathon has served as the John Mastronardi Memorial Fund’s largest annual fundraiser for nearly 18 years.  John, himself, ran Boston many times. Like for so many others, this landmark race on Patriot’s Day holds a special place in our hearts. The John Mastronardi Memorial Fund committee members stand strong with Boston during this difficult time.  We pray for the bombing victims and their families and encourage donations to the One Fund.

A heartfelt thanks to Kerry Wilson for all of her tireless efforts fundraising, training and running for John!

A sincere thank you goes out to the following people who supported Alexis Mastronardi with donations, as she ran the 116th Boston Marathon. Thank you!!!

“He used to run the Boston Marathon,” remembers Mastronardi. “He was an avid runner.”

Completing the marathon himself several times, John even held Revere’s course record for short time when he completed the marathon in 2:56:42 in 1978. The scholarship reflects that love, as well. The funds for the scholarship are raised through the marathon, with someone completing the race for the fund  Last year, it was Mastronardi’s cousin, Sarah Russell, of Tewksbury. Russell, an athlete for Tewksbury Memorial High School and Cushing Academy before playing four years with the Boston University women’s hockey team. She finished the course in just under five hours last year in honor of her uncle.

“It is something that I’ve been thinking about doing for a while and so I am very happy to have accomplished my goal,” said Russell last year in the Town Crier. “It was also especially rewarding for me that I was able to raise money for a scholarship in memory of my Uncle John.”

This year, it was Alexis who wanted to run for her father and nothing – not even soaring temperatures – was going to keep her from that task.

“It was so cool,” said Mastronardi. “It felt like he was running with me the whole way.”

To train for the race, Mastronardi completed three runs during the week, and one long run during the weekend. As the mother of a five-year-old and Emmanuel College’s Associate Athletic Director, it was a struggle to find the time, but she did it, with the help of a very supportive family. Her husband, Jerry Walsh, and daughter, Jaelyn Walsh, would often meet her on her long runs with water and other supplies, and get even more creative with support for her finish.

“I’d get back from a long run and there’d be a sign that said ‘Good Job, Mumma,’” said Mastronardi.

Once, Jaelyn and Jerry even set up a mock finish line in front of their house, stringing a rope across her finish. Mastronardi was hoping Jaelyn would be able to run the last two-tenths of the last mile with her, but she was unable to come out on the day of the race because she was sick. She still spent the day tracking her mother at home on the computer with her grandmother.

In addition to her friends and family, who camped out at mile 17, Mastronardi found support from the tens of thousands of strangers who crowded along the 26.2-mile course, that starts in Hopkinton and winds through eight Massachusetts towns and cities before finishing in Copley Square in downtown Boston.

“The crowd support along the way was incredible,” she said. “It was there the whole 26 miles.” People turned out with everything from hoses to ice cubes to orange slices to encourage the runners.

Though Mastronardi had run the marathon twice before, the most recent time was 12 years ago and she always had someone else to run with. The first time, it was her college roommate. The second time, she had someone to run with her from mile 17 on. This time, she was all by herself, and the hills of Newton seemed near impenetrable. She was particularly nervous about some recurring pains and injuries that cropped up during her months of training and prevented her from competing a planned 22-mile practice run prior to the race. Luckily, come the day of the race, the familiar pains did not cause any problems.

“I thought that these would really hamper me, but they didn’t. It was the heat. It was exhausting,” said Mastronardi. “It was a hot one.”

That fact, perhaps, cannot be overstated. The temperatures, which reached well into the 90s on Monday, were high enough to prompt the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) to advise registered runners who were inexperienced or ill to opt out of the race. The BAA offered registration deferral for those who chose this option, an offer they made two years ago to a smaller contingent when an Icelandic volcano prevented some European marathoners from making the trip.

Despite the challenge the heat presented,  Mastronardi thinks it’s pretty cool she ran in the second-hottest Boston Marathon on record. And, in some way, the heat connected her to her father. Mastronardi’s mother remembers a similarly tough marathon her husband completed. Mastronardi’s brother, Michael Mastronardi, who graduates from Coast Guard Boot Camp this coming weekend, would like to do the marathon in the next couple of years for the fund. For Christmas this year, he got his sister an IPod that she could listen to while training and in the race – a bit different from the Walkman she had last time she was training for the Boston Marathon.

“I plan on passing the torch to him,” said Mastronardi, not eager to undergo the grueling training process again. After that, there’s always Jaelyn, who wore her mother’s medal all of Monday night.

“She said, ‘Do you think, when I’m 18, I could run it?’” recounted Mastronardi.

Sounds like the family tradition is safe.

By: Kayti Burt – Sports Correspondent.  Complete article can be found in the April 20, 2012 edition of the Wilmington Town Crier or at: http://homenewshere.com/wilmington_town_crier/sports/article_14f5f3ce-8b24-11e1-a9fa-001a4bcf887a.html

Russell (25), who is John Mastronardi’s niece, is a 2009 graduate of Boston University and a four-year standout on the Terriers Women’s Ice Hockey Team. Russell and her longtime friend, McLaughlin (24), made the decision to run Boston in the Fall of 2010. Russell resides in Everett, Massachusetts, while McLaughlin lives in Norwood, Pennsylvania. Thus, the two trained for the race separately, but were side-by-side for much of the grueling trek.

 
Russell and McLaughlin were among the 26,907 total runners who made the 26.2 mile journey from Hopkinton to Boston, with 98.2% of the field reaching their goal, the finish line on Boylston Street. Russell completed the course in a Boston Athletic Association official time of 4:58.05, while McLaughlin came in at 5:05.18.

Russell and McLaughlin more than exceeded their fundraising goals. The two combined to raise over $5,000.00 for the 2011 Mastronardi Scholarship, inspiring the Fund’s committee members to up the scholarship award this past June. In addition, because of Sarah and Bill’s incredible fundraising efforts, the John Mastronardi Memorial Fund was able to present TWO Revere High School graduates with scholarships this year.

The John Mastronardi Memorial Scholarship Committee thanks Sarah and Bill for all of their amazing efforts in “Running for John.”