Boston College Athletics
Photo by: John Quackenbos
Running To Inspire and "Dream Big"
April 11, 2019 | Women's Soccer, #ForBoston Files
BC's Rachel Newborough will run for girls who she hopes will experience sport.
The Boston Marathon represents something so much greater to the local Massachusetts community than just a 26.2-mile run. It's an annual block party stretching from Hopkinton to Boston, a transformation for a city normally clogged by traffic and midday rush hours. It's a celebration of the people, who take the day off from work to turn ordinary runners into superheroes and rock stars for their work with noble causes.
Heading into this year, Boston College graduate student Rachel Newborough was well aware that there was a marathon run in this city, but she wasn't really aware of the depth of its celebration. Her uncle had previously run Boston, but Rachel didn't know the depth of its identity in the city. So when she decided to run Boston in 2019, she was in for something of a sports awakening.
"I wasn't aware how much the Marathon is celebrated in Boston," she said in a recent interview. "I wasn't aware that BC has the day off to support the runners, and I think BC's location (along the route) is perfect. It's such a big event. A girl on our team ran it last year before I came (to school) and called it a life-changing moment. So I'm really excited for that."
Newborough will board one of the early-morning buses and travel to Hopkinton's suburb location, then run back to Boylston St. with that excitement in her heart. She'll be a part of the celebration and the tradition, and she intends to cross the finish line as a representative from both Boston College and her European homeland.
She'll do it because she was inspired to run by a cause. Newborough is running in support of Dream Big, a Boston-based charity with a mission to empower girls growing up in low-income areas with sports. The organization provides the necessary equipment, footwear and clothing for young women who otherwise couldn't afford it, sponsoring teams to get girls access to sports where they would be denied by economic or social hurdles.
"It allows these young girls to have the mental and social benefits in addition to the physical benefits," Newborough said. "That's obviously a huge part of a young girl's life, especially (ones with) struggling home lives. This is an escape for them, and it's a really great cause. The charity is amazing, and I earned an internship with them for marketing and fundraising."
It resonates with Newborough because she is an athlete afforded opportunity through sport. She debuted for Reading FC at 16 years old and competed with Doncaster in the WSL 1, which is the top tier of women's association football in England. She's remained part of the Northern Ireland senior international roster since 2016, earning 16 caps and competing as part of the UEFA qualification group stage for the Women's World Cup.
"The friendships I've made through sport are different than anything I've ever had in life," Newborough said. "They help you when you're going through so many changes as a teenage girl. Sport really opens doors. For me, girls from low income backgrounds have tougher home lives, and they can often get grounded or have views that they can't achieve much in life. They sometimes don't have that self confidence, and they don't build those friendships."
It's a leap of faith for a player who immersed herself in Boston for just one season. Newborough joined the Eagles for her graduate year this past fall, playing in 16 games with eight starts for just under 600 minutes. But this one season proved to be one of the most personally fulfilling as she became, for the first time in her life, a true student-athlete.
"Quite a few girls came to America to play college soccer because academics and soccer are completely separate (in England)," she said. "Scholarships for soccer don't exist, so you have to do everything separately. If you get involved in soccer back home, you have to kind of shove academics to one side. For me, I really value both and enjoy both, so I did my undergraduate work while playing for a club at the same time. Coming to America, Boston College stood out for so many reasons."
Now she'll become something of a full-fledged Bostonian when she partakes in one of the region's most hallowed traditions. She'll run from Hopkinton through Framingham and Natick, past Wellesley and into Newton, Brookline and Boston. She'll experience the Scream Tunnel and enter Kenmore Square right as a Red Sox game is letting out. She'll have to go up Heartbreak Hill in its entirety, and she'll run by Mile 21 - and the campus she now calls home.
"I'll be flying my European and Northern Ireland flags when I run the Marathon, and that's part of the reason why I wanted to run it," she continued. "To have the fitness, the healthiness, the funding to run the Marathon and to have the opportunity to represent as a senior international football player, sport has given me so many opportunities. It breaks my heart that girls couldn't be in the position that I am, but they could've been as good or better soccer players if they had the opportunity. That will get me over the finish line for sure, and maybe one day, those young girls can play for the United States national team or run a marathon of their own."
Heading into this year, Boston College graduate student Rachel Newborough was well aware that there was a marathon run in this city, but she wasn't really aware of the depth of its celebration. Her uncle had previously run Boston, but Rachel didn't know the depth of its identity in the city. So when she decided to run Boston in 2019, she was in for something of a sports awakening.
"I wasn't aware how much the Marathon is celebrated in Boston," she said in a recent interview. "I wasn't aware that BC has the day off to support the runners, and I think BC's location (along the route) is perfect. It's such a big event. A girl on our team ran it last year before I came (to school) and called it a life-changing moment. So I'm really excited for that."
Newborough will board one of the early-morning buses and travel to Hopkinton's suburb location, then run back to Boylston St. with that excitement in her heart. She'll be a part of the celebration and the tradition, and she intends to cross the finish line as a representative from both Boston College and her European homeland.
She'll do it because she was inspired to run by a cause. Newborough is running in support of Dream Big, a Boston-based charity with a mission to empower girls growing up in low-income areas with sports. The organization provides the necessary equipment, footwear and clothing for young women who otherwise couldn't afford it, sponsoring teams to get girls access to sports where they would be denied by economic or social hurdles.
"It allows these young girls to have the mental and social benefits in addition to the physical benefits," Newborough said. "That's obviously a huge part of a young girl's life, especially (ones with) struggling home lives. This is an escape for them, and it's a really great cause. The charity is amazing, and I earned an internship with them for marketing and fundraising."
It resonates with Newborough because she is an athlete afforded opportunity through sport. She debuted for Reading FC at 16 years old and competed with Doncaster in the WSL 1, which is the top tier of women's association football in England. She's remained part of the Northern Ireland senior international roster since 2016, earning 16 caps and competing as part of the UEFA qualification group stage for the Women's World Cup.
"The friendships I've made through sport are different than anything I've ever had in life," Newborough said. "They help you when you're going through so many changes as a teenage girl. Sport really opens doors. For me, girls from low income backgrounds have tougher home lives, and they can often get grounded or have views that they can't achieve much in life. They sometimes don't have that self confidence, and they don't build those friendships."
It's a leap of faith for a player who immersed herself in Boston for just one season. Newborough joined the Eagles for her graduate year this past fall, playing in 16 games with eight starts for just under 600 minutes. But this one season proved to be one of the most personally fulfilling as she became, for the first time in her life, a true student-athlete.
"Quite a few girls came to America to play college soccer because academics and soccer are completely separate (in England)," she said. "Scholarships for soccer don't exist, so you have to do everything separately. If you get involved in soccer back home, you have to kind of shove academics to one side. For me, I really value both and enjoy both, so I did my undergraduate work while playing for a club at the same time. Coming to America, Boston College stood out for so many reasons."
Now she'll become something of a full-fledged Bostonian when she partakes in one of the region's most hallowed traditions. She'll run from Hopkinton through Framingham and Natick, past Wellesley and into Newton, Brookline and Boston. She'll experience the Scream Tunnel and enter Kenmore Square right as a Red Sox game is letting out. She'll have to go up Heartbreak Hill in its entirety, and she'll run by Mile 21 - and the campus she now calls home.
"I'll be flying my European and Northern Ireland flags when I run the Marathon, and that's part of the reason why I wanted to run it," she continued. "To have the fitness, the healthiness, the funding to run the Marathon and to have the opportunity to represent as a senior international football player, sport has given me so many opportunities. It breaks my heart that girls couldn't be in the position that I am, but they could've been as good or better soccer players if they had the opportunity. That will get me over the finish line for sure, and maybe one day, those young girls can play for the United States national team or run a marathon of their own."
Players Mentioned
M
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