Eleven intrepid Goodwin champions completed the 111th Boston Marathon Monday in some of the worst weather conditions in the history of the race. Run on Patriots’ Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts honoring the first battles of the American Revolution, the race this year proved an even tougher challenge as lashing headwinds and stinging rain from a rare April nor’easter made conditions simply dismal.
At last tally, the Goodwin champions included Jennifer Merrigan Fay, Jack Falvey, Erinn Gallagher, Carl Metzger (who ran with his sister and father), Nicole Perroton, Joe Savage, Susan Robb, James Sweet and Christie Wilson – who not only qualified for and ran this difficult race in under four hours, but did so in the most trying of conditions.
Special recognition goes to Jennifer Merrigan Fay who finished the race first in an impressive 3 hours and 20 minutes. And Nicole Perroton, our SF associate who traveled from the West Coast to compete in the race, was flying the firm colors at the event, sporting a shirt that read “Nicole, Esq., Goodwin Procter.” The shirt was made for Nicole by fellow SF associate Liz Stone’s mom from Needham, MA, who cheered on Nicole at the half-way point, reporting on her impressive pace. Nicole’s official time for completing the 26.2-mile course from Hopkinton to Boston was 3 hours and 45 minutes, another extraordinary time given the harsh conditions and the fact that Nicole had taken the red eye east on Friday night before the race and was still on west coast time. This was Nicole’s fifth marathon, her first attempt, however, at the difficult Boston course.
And last, but not least, our admiration goes to John Newell and his sons Will (18) and Alex (15), who volunteered as part of the Red Cross first aid support for the Marathon. They spent all day Monday in the elements taking care of the runners who didn't make it through the rain and cold. This is the third year they have done this. The first year was very warm which led to a number of runners dropping out at the first aid station they were assigned to, last year was beautiful running weather, and of course this year was too cold and wet which also caused a number of runners to seek aid.