Boston College Athletics
Eagles Host “Runner in Red” Essay Competition Awards Event
May 01, 2018 | Women's Track & Field
BC shares stories on the joy of running at “Runner in Red Essay Competition” awards event on May 4
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Twenty-eight members of the Boston College women's track and field team submitted stories in a "Runner in Red Essay Competition," which is a pilot program designed to give women runners a chance to share positive ways running contributes to their lives. The winners of the competition will be announced on Friday, May 4.
For the past month, student-athletes have been penning 300 to 700 word essays to launch the "Runner in Red Essay Competition" that offers them a chance to express the "joy of running."
On May 4 the team will gather for an award event in Higgins 300 from 10am to 11am where a first and second place and three runners-up will be announced. The event offers all team members a chance to share what they wrote in their essays about how running helped them feel empowered throughout different times in their lives, form strong friendships with other women and develop personal strengths to overcome adversities.
The competition was inspired by a real-life Boston Marathon legend and a mystery woman runner from 1951, an era when women were not allowed to run in races. In 1951 a group of Canadian runners insisted they spotted a woman "wearing red" slip into the Boston Marathon, making her the first woman to run a marathon in America. The novel, Runner in Red, by Tom Murphy, director of the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University and creator of the "Runner in Red Essay Competition", explores the mystery and raises funds for a cure for lung cancer in memory of Barb Murphy, Tom's wife and a Boston Marathon runner.
As Randy Thomas, coach of the Boston College Women's Track Team, said: "Men have always had an ability to talk about the joy of running. Now this competition gives women a chance to share the ways their lives are enhanced."
For more information on the essay competition see runnerinred.com.
For the past month, student-athletes have been penning 300 to 700 word essays to launch the "Runner in Red Essay Competition" that offers them a chance to express the "joy of running."
On May 4 the team will gather for an award event in Higgins 300 from 10am to 11am where a first and second place and three runners-up will be announced. The event offers all team members a chance to share what they wrote in their essays about how running helped them feel empowered throughout different times in their lives, form strong friendships with other women and develop personal strengths to overcome adversities.
The competition was inspired by a real-life Boston Marathon legend and a mystery woman runner from 1951, an era when women were not allowed to run in races. In 1951 a group of Canadian runners insisted they spotted a woman "wearing red" slip into the Boston Marathon, making her the first woman to run a marathon in America. The novel, Runner in Red, by Tom Murphy, director of the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University and creator of the "Runner in Red Essay Competition", explores the mystery and raises funds for a cure for lung cancer in memory of Barb Murphy, Tom's wife and a Boston Marathon runner.
As Randy Thomas, coach of the Boston College Women's Track Team, said: "Men have always had an ability to talk about the joy of running. Now this competition gives women a chance to share the ways their lives are enhanced."
For more information on the essay competition see runnerinred.com.
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