Team Brookline has announced a 30-member team that will train to run the 2014 Boston Marathon to raise money for local nonprofits.

A collaborative fundraising program managed between the town of Brookline and Brookline Community Mental Health Center, Team Brookline benefits four charitable organizations that play integral roles in strengthening and enriching the community: BCMHC, Brookline Education Foundation, Brookline Library Foundation and the Brookline Teen Center.

The 2014 roster includes Brookline residents Jennifer Barnes, Jennifer Brinckerhoff, Elizabeth Burke, Leah Sterans, Patricia Maher, Lara Kimmerer, Howard Lurie, Jonathan Berz, Paul Epstein, Matt Cooney, Myles Parker, Dan Oberholzer, David Krakauer, Merritt Prinzivalli, Todd Curtis, Jeffrey Feldgoise, Marisa Nucci, Rebecca Tolkoff, David Knight and Mark Jensen.

Also, Elizabeth Barcewicz of Dorchester; Jessica Pfeifer Stewart of Providence, R.I.; Rafael Martinez of Malden; Megan Capobianco of South Boston; Meghan Zipin and Brian Caldwell of Boston; Andrea Kalsow of Brighton; Melissa Zawadzki of Sandwich; Nadine Downing of Peabody; Sarah Harris of Wellesley; and Colin Wilkins of Jamaica Plain.

Eleven runners are returning from the 2013 roster.

Read more about Brookline’s Boston Marathon charity team is back for 2014

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Team Brookline has 42 runners, 4 charitable causes…
and advice from its own mental health expert.

Everyone who ran in, attended, watched, supported the Marathon last year keenly felt the effects of the day and what followed. For many of us, those feelings will come flooding back this year on April 21. But runners training for this year’s Boston Marathon are deep into that experience already.

That’s why Team Brookline is drawing on the expertise of a special coach this year: a mental health expert who will talk with the Team as part of its training regimen.

Team Brookline is the Town of Brookline’s official Boston Marathon team. Team Brookline’s 42 runners (including 8 runners who were unable to complete the 2013 race when it was halted after the bombing) are aiming to raise over $200,000 for four core Brookline non-profits: the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, which manages the Team; Brookline Education Foundation; Brookline Library Foundation; and Brookline Teen Center.

Read More about BE STRONG AND MARATH(ON): This year, we’re all mentally training for the Boston Marathon.

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Colin Wilkins was less than a mile away from finishing his first Boston Marathon last year before he was stopped by barricades and learned that two bombs exploded near the finish line.

This year, Wilkins is running again, and when he makes it to the end, he expects a rush of emotions to overtake him.

“Crossing the finish line is going to run the gamut,” he said. “I’m going to be elated. I’m probably going to cry. I imagine I will be angry that I wasn’t able to do this twice, and I will be exhausted.”

Read More about Brookline center offering mental health services for Boston Marathon runners

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Everyone who ran in, attended, watched, supported the Marathon last year keenly felt the effects of the day and what followed. For many of us, those feelings will come flooding back this year on April 21. But runners training for this year’s Boston Marathon are deep into that experience already.

That’s why Team Brookline is drawing on the expertise of a special coach this year: a mental health expert who will talk with the Team as part of its training regimen.

Team Brookline is the town of Brookline’s official Boston Marathon team. Team Brookline’s 42 runners (including 8 runners who were unable to complete the 2013 race when it was halted after the bombing) are aiming to raise over $200,000 for four core Brookline non-profits: the Brookline Community Mental Health Center, which manages the Team; Brookline Education Foundation; Brookline Library Foundation; and Brookline Teen Center.

Read More about Brookline Residents, Others Aim to Raise $200K in Marathon Runs

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Many of the runners participating in this year’s Boston Marathon have to deal with traumatic memories of the horrific events that transpired last April. The bombings irreparably scarred many.

The first priority for runners is to get their bodies ready for the Marathon. This year’s a little different. There’s a team helping runners incorporate mental health into their training regimen.

Dr. Larry Abrams of the Brookline, Mass. Mental Health Center shared three coping strategies for runners to observe. Abrams said one must place their feelings in the past, notice where you are in the present and accept what occurred.

“When a trauma like this occurs it really bursts the bubble of a sense of continuity, a sense of safety, a sense of predictability in one’s life,” said Abrams. “When that bubble bursts it takes a while for it to build back.”

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Security will be much tighter for the Boston Marathon in Brookline this year, but public safety officials don’t want to take away from the excitement of the race.
Brookline Police Chief Daniel O’Leary spoke about preparations for the marathon at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Tuesday, April 9, and said security will be beefed up this year — the one year anniversary of the bombings that killed three and injured more than 200 — but not to the detriment of the event.
“That was a big thing about planning, and I know the board has expressed their concern that we don’t ruin the ambiance of the whole thing, while still providing the highest level of safety that we can. And I think we’ve struck a pretty good balance,” he said.

Read More about Brookline Police chief: Race route security tighter, atmosphere still loose

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On April 15, 2013, Colin Wilkins, 34, could feel his body physically breaking down. Having run no more than seven miles in his life before he started training that fall for Team Brookline, leading up to race day Wilkins started to doubt whether he could finish. But here he was. Wilkins had just passed the 25 mile marker of the Boston Marathon in Kenmore Square, heading toward what looked like a bottleneck of runners at the Massachusetts Avenue overpass, where race officials had stopped runners from continuing.

Wilkins began to overhear people chattering vaguely about an explosion at the finish line. He stood there, exhausted, piecing together what might have happened, and terrified that his family, who had hopped on the MBTA Green Line train after hugging him at the 24 mile stretch, had made it to Copley Square in time to congratulate him at the finish line.

Read More about Finishing Strong: Brookline Marathon Team Finds Strength in Community

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Calling all runners! Team Brookline, the official Brookline Team of the Boston Marathon, is seeking runners for the 2019 Marathon Team.

Applications are now available for interested runners to join the 2019 Team Brookline marathon team. Interested runners do not need to be Brookline residents to participate; they just need a commitment to the team and to our causes.

Team Brookline is a committed group of adult runners who train together for the Boston Marathon. When runners train and run with Team Brookline, they strengthen the Brookline community, expanding access to mental health care, literacy, the arts, youth development programs and education.

Members of Team Brookline receive the following benefits:
• Guaranteed entry into the 2019 Boston Marathon.
• Tailored coaching all season long from a dedicated coach
• Camaraderie of training with a committed team
• Personalized training plans
• Individualized fundraising support
• Team Brookline running gear

To participate on Team Brookline, runners must commit to raising a minimum of $6,000 each, though many past runners have surpassed the minimum.  There is a non-refundable $25 application fee, and selected runners are responsible for paying the Boston Athletic Association’s registration fee. Applicants will be selected based on running experience, fundraising ability and passion for participating.

One of the world’s oldest marathons, the Boston Marathon is a popular event for both runners and spectators — it is also one of the hardest marathons to get into. Each of the eight towns along the Boston Marathon route is given a number of race entries as a thank you for their support of the race. In 2012, the Town of Brookline became the first town to take these invitational numbers and create its own charity program, giving members of the community a chance to run in a historic race and establishing its official Boston Marathon team: Team Brookline.

Since its inception, more than 150 runners, supported by friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and each other, as well as local business community, have raised nearly $1.5 million to strengthen the community and make a true impact in the lives of all who live, work, or go to school in Brookline.

Applications will be accepted until Friday, October 12, 2018. 

For questions, please contact Cyndi Roy Gonzalez at Cyndi@teambrookline.org.

The post Calling all runners! Join the 2019 Marathon Team! appeared first on Team Brookline.

Calling all runners! Team Brookline, the official Brookline Team of the Boston Marathon, is seeking runners for the 2020 Marathon Team.

Applications are now available for interested runners to join the 2020 Team Brookline marathon team. Interested runners do not need to be Brookline residents to participate; they just need a commitment to the team and to our causes.

Team Brookline is a committed group of adult runners who train together for the Boston Marathon. When runners train and run with Team Brookline, they strengthen the Brookline community, expanding access to mental health care, literacy, the arts, youth development programs and education.

Members of Team Brookline receive the following benefits:
• Guaranteed entry into the 2020 Boston Marathon.
• Tailored coaching all season long from a dedicated coach
• Camaraderie of training with a committed team
• Personalized training plans
• Individualized fundraising support
• Team Brookline running gear

To participate on Team Brookline, runners must commit to raising a minimum of $6,000 each, though many past runners have surpassed the minimum.  If you apply before September 20^th, the registration fee will be waived.  If you apply on or after September 20^th, there is a non-refundable $35 application fee. Selected runners are responsible for paying the Boston Athletic Association’s registration fee. Applicants will be selected based on running experience, fundraising ability and passion for participating.

One of the world’s oldest marathons, the Boston Marathon is a popular event for both runners and spectators — it is also one of the hardest marathons to get into. Each of the eight towns along the Boston Marathon route is given a number of race entries as a thank you for their support of the race. In 2012, the Town of Brookline became the first town to take these invitational numbers and create its own charity program, giving members of the community a chance to run in a historic race and establishing its official Boston Marathon team: Team Brookline.

Since its inception, more than 150 runners, supported by friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and each other, as well as local business community, have raised nearly $1.5 million to strengthen the community and make a true impact in the lives of all who live, work, or go to school in Brookline.

Applications will be accepted until Tuesday, October 15, 2019.

For questions, please contact Jen Bray at jen@teambrookline.org.

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