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Four members of a local running group, the Hubbardston Rail Runners, all registered times which placed them in the top 20 percent of the 20,000 runners in the 2005 Boston
Marathon held on April 18th. The “Hubbardston Rail Runners” are a small group of runners that spend weekend mornings traversing the abandoned railroad beds from
Williamsville to Oakham in runs of varying distances.
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Mark Wigler, 56, running in his 32nd marathon and 14th Boston Marathon completed the course in 3:13, finishing 1651st overall. The
newest member of the running club Katie Kinnear, 33 , running in her 2nd Boston Marathon finished in 2981st place overall with a time of 3:23. Ms. Kinnear placed in the
top 275 women runners. Marty Ellowitz, 50, running in his third Boston Marathon placed 3434 overall with a time of 3:26. Rounding out
an exceptional performance by the local running club was first time Boston Marathoner, Michael Laperle, 50, an employee of the Quabbin Regional School District, who ran a
time of 3:29, finishing 3875 overall. |
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The local running club members were pleased with their performance on a day where temperatures reached into the high sixties before cooling off during the final three
miles. First time Boston participant Laperle was astounded by the sheer size and flawless coordination of the event and all agreed that the Hopkinton start, complete with
TV cameras, numerous helicopters whirring overhead, runners from 54 countries, a military flyover, and a tribute to Johnny Kelley will be remembered for a long time.
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Additional local involvement in the race included Matt Twarog, 29, of Hubbardston who ran a time of 3:07 for a very respectable finish in 1075th place while John Healy,
53, of Hubbardston ran 4:20 placing 14341st overall. Former Hubbardston resident and Quabbin High School runner, 23 year old Scott Leslie, turned in the fastest time of
residents with Hubbardston ties, finishing in 385th place in a time of 2:53.
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The performance of the six runners from the small town of Hubbardston surely rivals that of the runners of many larger New England cities and towns. Perusing the results
must lead some New Englanders to wonder if there might be something special about the Hubbardston water that fuels the local competitors.
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