picture from the AP
On this past Saturday, 300 runners dressed as superheroes raced down the last 18 miles of the Boston Marathon course. Hosted by the North Andover-based nonprofit Charity Teams, the superhero run included over 20 fundraising groups.
Included in this group were 26 members of Team MR8 who were raising money in memory of Martin Richard, the 8 year old Dorchester boy who was killed last year near the finish line.
There were 75 spots on Team MR8 and each runner raised $7500 for the foundation. One runner was former Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Sean Murphy, who had never run more than 5 miles when he submitted his application. As he said,
“The Richard family was doing what any American family could have been doing at that time: They were out enjoying the day, watching the marathon, and they had their world rocked.”
Other famous MR8 runners include Arizona U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, and Amby Burfoot, the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and editor-at-large of Runner’s World magazine.
As runner Tina Cassidy said, “To carry on the legacy of a little boy who loved to be a peacemaker in his community and he loved to run, this is just one way to give back to his family. There’s great motivation to do well for this team, not just on race day, but promoting peace and hope and all the things Martin cared about.”
The money that Team MR8 raises will go to projects that the foundation’s board members are now starting to play. As Larry Marchese, a spokesman for the Richard family, said
“Just like everyone else, we are showing that you can’t use terror to change the way we live. It’s solidarity with all of Boston and the rest of the country, and the other part of it is these runners are raising the seed money for this foundation.”