Running for our Veterans

Star Exponent

Published: January 5, 2009

By Nate Delesline III

Sweat will flow from two local people for a good cause this spring.

Experienced marathon runners Joe Troy and Wendy Taylor have decided to take off into history by participating in the Boston Marathon.

“Boston is like the holy grail of marathons,” said 60-year-old Troy of Culpeper. This will be the first time he will run in the well-known event. Neither is a stranger to the road races, however. The April 20, 2009 run will be Troy’s eighth and Taylor’s fourth. Troy’s runs include Toronto, Paris, and Disneyworld. Taylor participated in the Marine Corps Marathon.

“We have to endure four months of extensive training to be able to run the 26.2 miles,” Troy said, adding that they’ve already begun a rigorous training regimen.

Begun in 1897, the Boston Marathon is one of the world’s best-known marathons and is the world’s oldest, according the race’s Web site. About 20,000 people participate each year. Although cash prizes are awarded, most, like Troy and Taylor, run for charity or just for the satisfaction of running the race.

The duo met at their workplace in Culpeper — Swift — and the idea to run in Boston started out on a whim, according to Taylor.

“This all started with Joe,” said the 42-year-old Taylor, of Fredericksburg. “I think we were joking around and Joe had this idea that we were going to run Boston,” she said with a laugh.

But their mission is serious. About 16 others will join Troy and Taylor in raising money for Homes for Our Troops. The Massachusetts-based charity raises funds to modify homes or build new homes for severely injured veterans. A Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, Troy also says he’s running in memory of a high school friend and fellow Marine that didn’t return home.

“We made a commitment of $3,000,” Troy added. He said several Culpeper businesses have already committed to helping them.

So with a dozen runs between them, they decided to do it. But experience or not, the training remains rather intense. “Weekends you get up at the crack of dawn,” said Troy. “It’s very time consuming.”

Running was something both took up later in life — Troy at 55 and Taylor at 40, but when it comes to training and running, they say age is just a number.

“If I can do it at 40, if he can do it at 55, you can do it too,” Taylor said. And “we have very good, supportive families,” she added.

According to the Boston Marathon’s Web site, the traditional 26.2 mile marathon distance was established at the 1908 Olympic games in London. The distance was extended from 24.8 miles so that the race would finish in front of the review box occupied by King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria.

http://www.starexponent.com/cse/lifestyles/culpeper_news/article/runnin_down_a_dream/27276/