Seventeen Strong and Counting: Tom Ahearn

Does the number 419.2 mean anything to you? This is the number of Boston Marathon miles Norwood resident Thomas ‘Tom’ Ahearn has run.  That is sixteen Boston Marathons in a row and by end of day Monday, April 15; Tom will add 26.2 miles to that tally making this his seventeenth Boston Marathon in a row!  For those who know Tom, he is very humble and always willing to help anyone on a moment’s notice.  He is one of the nicest and most genuine guys I know.   So why does he run? 

Tom’s Boston Marathon story begins thousands of miles away while traveling around Germany in 1995. He was between jobs and Tom decided to visit friends and backpack through the country. This visit, coincidently, was during Oktoberfest.

While walking around the festival wearing a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, he was stopped by a fellow American who was from Newton. The conversation somehow got onto the subject of running. Through that discussion, the two men realized they had both run in many of the same road races.  No contact information was exchanged and each went on their separate ways.

Now, odds would probably say these two men will probably never bump into each other again. 

Tom tells me, “The following July, 1996, at a race in Newton, walking up to the starting line, that same guy from Germany spotted me – and after the race, we had a few beers – and we’ve become friends, not just running friends, but real friends.”  His friend is Keith Sheehan from Newton.  Through this friendship, Tom became part of a close-knit group of runners that he considers almost like a second family.

Tom states: “Later that same year, we (Keith and Tom) raced on Nantucket, where Keith met a girl from Norwood, whom he would eventually marry. She said that she had run Boston the year before as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team, and encouraged me to give it a try. I was always intrigued by Boston, having watched it many times at the top of Heartbreak Hill, and thought that someday I might like to make an attempt. Her encouragement convinced me to sign on with the DFMC, and like I said, it’s the best thing I ever did. I’ve met the greatest people.”

Coincidently the Boston Marathon and being part of DFMC is how Tom met his wife Amanda in 2008.  Five years later, married with two to children, Tom and Amanda are the definition of a running family.   You will sometimes see Amanda running with Maeve (two years old) and Seamus (7 months old) in a double wide running stroller around Norwood.  Running is just part of their routine!

Tom runs for more than just the challenge but also for a worthy cause.  From the DFMC site: “Every dollar raised through DFMC benefits the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, bringing Dana-Farber Cancer Institute closer to the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.”  Tom runs in honor of is dad, Fran, who succumbed to skin cancer over 30 years ago.  Tom explains: ““I still run because of my dad and what I have seen over the years how it (cancer) affects other people and how my life has changed without my dad for the past 30 years, I want to help put a stop to all those that suffer from this terrible disease. I have seen too many people with this disease especially children and we all need to help out to end it.” 

This year Tom is part of the “In Memory Program” and running for Anthony Hathaway who passed away 21 years ago at age 11 from cancer.  On a sad note, Tom also runs for a family friend, Sarah Lockwood Mohl, who recently lost her battle with cancer at age 28.  Sarah is survived by her husband and their two year old daughter.   As you can see, cancer is not biased.

Tom runs because others cannot and somewhere between Hopkinton and Boston, there is a cure for cancer.  “I am running for you, your family and your friends.  I am asking for your support to get the ultimate finish line; “A WORLD WITHOUT CANCER.””   When asked about running next year, Tom says “I’ll keep on going as long as I can.”  For Tom, there is no end game in site for now.

If you want to support Tom’s effort for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge you can go to:

http://www.rundfmc.org/2013/toma

Good luck Tom and just think, only 104.8 miles until you hit twenty Boston Marathons in a row!  If anyone can do it, you will!

Want to track Tom? Text the word RUNNER to 345678 and then respond with his bib number #23268.  For more information on this:

http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/att-athlete-alert.aspx

There are also mobile apps:

http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/participant-information/baa-boston-marathon-mobile-app.aspx