Boston pg 11 5-1-14
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By Ron P. Coderre
In 2013 when tragedy struck the finish line at the Boston Marathon in the form of two bombs exploding, which killed three people and maimed hundreds, Father David Choquette, pastor of St. Mary Church in Putnam, was about a half hour removed from the horrible scene.
Father Choquette had traveled to Boston with his friend Maj. Rick Fox of the Connecticut State Police and Fox’s family to support Fox in his run. This year the scenario was similar but the scene as one would imagine was much different than last year.
The plan this year was for Father Choquette to accompany Fox’s wife Lynn and his children Ryan and Amanda, while Rick Fox went ahead to Hopkinton with another running buddy to prep for the start of the race. The initial plan went off like clockwork.
The quartet situated themselves in Brighton at the 22-mile mark near St. John’s Seminary, where Father Choquette had studied for the priesthood. The idea was to watch Fox run through Brighton and then grab a train for downtown to meet him after he finished the 26.3 mile run.
“Everything went well as we had planned. Driving in we all felt good about going to Boston despite the events of last year. We saw security everywhere and knew that the situation was safe. Unfortunately the one thing we didn’t plan on was the size of the crowd this year,” said Father Choquette.
More than 36,000 runners participated in this year’s marathon as part of the effort and demonstration of “Boston Strong.” The crowd of spectators for the race was estimated at more than one millions, again as a demonstration that Boston and its people and friends were demonstrating their resiliency and strength as a community.
After Rick Fox ran by to their cheers and exultations of his supporters, Father Choquette and the Fox family headed to Reservoir Station to grab the T, hoping to catch up with Maj. Fox in Boston. Much to their disappointment thousands of others had the same idea and it became impossible to get on the train. Turning to the automobile they ran into the same quandary, as cars were backed up for two miles along and around Rte. 128 and surrounding areas.
“Much to our disappointment we decided that the best thing to do was to head home, which is the course we opted for. We never got to see the area of the finish line or Maj. Fox following his run. Despite the disappointment we were happy to have been part of the historic day,” said Father Choquette.
It wasn’t until later that everyone heard from Maj. Fox. They found out that he had run the marathon in 3:05.20, which was a full two minutes faster than his time in 2013. Although the day didn’t go quite as planned everyone was thankful that there wasn’t any recurrence of the events of last year. And the Fox family, Father Choquette, the people of Boston and their friends are proud to have been a part of historic “Boston Strong.”
Marathon pg 11 5-1-14
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By Ron P. Coderre
The 2014 Boston Marathon was special this year because of the events of 2013 when two terrorist bombs exploded near the finish line killing three people and injuring hundreds of other. In an effort to demonstrate “Boston Strong” and to send a message to potential terrorists, the people of Boston and surrounding areas made this year’s race a spectacular show case of strength.
More than 36,000 runners participated in this year’s marathon, 9,000 more runners than usual. Along the route from Hopkinton through Heartbreak Hill and down to the finish line at Copley Square, more than one million spectators and onlookers urged the runners on.
As fate might have it, a United States citizen who had immigrated to this country as a young man won the race. Meb Keflezighi broke the tape in 2:08.37, a full 11 seconds ahead of second place finisher Wilson Chebet. The female winner was Rita Jeptoo in a time of 2:18.57.
As usual northeastern Connecticut was well represented in the field. Leading the pack of local entries was Michael Stadolnik of Plainfield in an amazing time of 2:33.02. He was only 24 plus minutes off the winning time. Stadolnik is a familiar face to local running followers; in fact on March 9 he captured the O’Putnam 5 K.
Another familiar name, Daniel Gaunya of Woodstock posted a time of 2:50.27. Gaunya is a Deary Memorial Race top runner and has captured his hometown Memorial Day 10K. Another Woodstock runner Matthew Lipscomb had a time of 3:09.04, while long distance running veteran and local favorite Harry Lepp of Danielson crossed the finish line in 3:59.30. David Lusignan also of Woodstock and the record holder in the O’Putnam 5K was also among the local finishers.
Carissa Ekholm of Putnam was the top local female finisher in 3:32.0. The next local female was Kristen Samples of Thompson (4:16.39) followed by Andrea Borella of Danielson (4:24.35). Other local women in the field included Sara Hunttyb of Putnam (4:33.34), Anne Nozzolillo of Thompson (5:44.32) and Shannon Belcher of Woodstock (5:46.09).
On a day that was special in Boston the memories of this year’s race will be imbedded in the memories of this year’s local participants for years to come. In the eyes of those who watched from the sidelines they were all winners.
Breault pg 12 5-1-14
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POMFRET --- Colby Breault of Putnam, a member of the Pomfret School class of 2015, was recently one of many students performing iconic Broadway show tunes in “Broadway Nights,” an annual tribute to the Great White Way. Colby sang “Fly Me to the Moon,” a frequently recorded jazz standard, perhaps most associated with Frank Sinatra.
Honored pg 12 5-1-14
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Honored
The Woodstock Academy Lady Centaurs Gymnastics Team being introduced to the State House of Representatives by State Representative Mike Alberts. Courtesy photo.