|
|
Team Griffin's Friends trains for marathon
|
| |
|
Mark Chatel of Holyoke and Martha Berrouard of Granby get in some last-minute stretches prior to the April 2 20-mile run through Springfield. Both are members of Griffin's Friends. Reminder Publications photo by Lori O'Brien
|
By Lori O'Brien
Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD As the sun shone brightly and the temperature crept up to 50 degrees by 9 a.m. on the morning of April 2, more than 25 runners from throughout the Greater Springfield area were preparing for a 20-mile run.
With less than two weeks to go before the 110th Boston Marathon, these runners were eager to see how they would fare.
The runners gather weekly on Sunday mornings at the Allen Street Package Store parking lot and are all members of Griffin's Friends, a local nonprofit organization that has a simple goal "to bring moments of joy to courageous kids."
The "courageous kids" are children stricken with cancer, and members raise funds through a variety of initiatives each year that benefit the Griffin's Friends' Children Cancer Fund at Baystate Medical Center.
Griffin's Friends is named for Griffin D. Kelleher who passed away at 14 months of age more than 12 years ago after a courageous battle with cancer, according to Charles Casartello, a spokesperson for the group.
Griffin's Friends' largest fund-raiser is Team Griffin's Friends who run in the annual Boston Marathon. Several members of Team Griffin's Friends spoke to Reminder Publications and shared these insights into why others should consider joining the group.
"The most rewarding experience in conjunction with Griffin's Friends is the people I have met," said Holyoke resident Mark Chatel. He added he has met some wonderful families and children and have made many new friends.
Chatel said he has been an avid runner for four years and this spring will be his second year running the Boston Marathon.
"Last year I placed just around the middle of the pack," he said.
Chatel also cited the many "great community events" that Griffin's Friends are involved in that convinced him to be a part of the group.
For Margaret Kern of Springfield, she had wanted to train for a marathon and one of her friends encouraged her to join Griffin's Friends prior to the 2004 Boston Marathon for the experience and camaraderie.
Kern said she attended a kick-off rally of Griffin's Friends and "the group of people who were there were amazing and I was hooked to try it out. I think anybody who is interested in training for a marathon but may be a bit apprehensive about it, would feel very welcome and comfortable with Griffin's Friends."
Kern ran track in high school and said she has always enjoyed running road races. She is preparing for her third Boston Marathon and expects to finish within five hours.
Completing a marathon has always been a feat that Martha Berrouard of Granby always kept high on her priority list and decided "what better way to help raise money for Griffin's Friends and satisfy my own need to complete a marathon."
Berrouard had been an avid runner alongside her father, Edward Hanna, in the 1970's but took a long break to concentrate on starting a family. Fast forward 20 years to 2005 when she ran the Boston Marathon with Griffin's Friends and finished in four hours.
Berrouard explained that when you run for Griffin's Friends, all runners are put on a team and each team has a captain. Team captains are children either in remission or currently undergoing therapy.
"I was put on 'Team Aileen,'" said Berrouard. "At the banquet a week after the marathon she put the Griffin's Friends marathon medal around my neck. That was my most rewarding moment."
Berrouard added that she couldn't wait to start training for the following year.
Casartello, of Longmeadow, said he traditionally finishes the Boston Marathon also in the middle of the pack. He summed up the sentiments of all when he said that at the Boston Marathon's 24-mile marker there are scores of children and families who benefit from Griffin's Friends programs who are rooting for them to finish the race.
"That's very moving," he said.
In 2005, more than 90 members of Team Griffin's Friends completed the 26.2-mile trek, according to Casartello. With the assistance of hundreds of contributors making pledges, runners raised more than $50,000 for Griffin's Friends' programs no small feat.
Whether you are a first-time marathoner, elite athlete or back-of-the-pack runner, you can find support with Griffin's Friends, according to Casartello.
"There is always someone who will help you with your running," added Chatel. "You will have a great experience of feeling like you are part of a team and with great friends."
Kern echoed those sentiments and said one of her favorite times with Team Griffin's Friends is the post-marathon banquet.
"You have already been through the training and actual marathon, so the hard part is over," she said. "It is a heart-warming occasion to see the team captains or the families of those children who have passed away passing out medals to each runner. You see why months of running have paid off for another individual's well-being throughout a difficult time in their life."
For more information on Griffin's Friends, visit www.griffinsfriends.com or contact Erin Dudeck at (413) 567-7975. E-mail inquiries may also be made to chacasa@aol.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
