Countdown to Boston: 20 days – Tobey running to honor family members

Name:Greg Tobey
Age:29
Hometown:Lynn
Occupation: Fifth-grade teacher at Harrington Elementary School
Q: How many marathons have you run? If this is your first, why did you choose Boston? Why this year?
A. This will be my first time running a marathon. I chose to run Boston this year for a number of reasons. Since April 2014, I?ve been consistently setting and meeting goals I?ve created for myself when it comes to running. Last September I ran a half-marathon, and after a few weeks of rest and a suggestion from my mother about trying a marathon, I decided to apply to run Boston with a charity team.
Q. Which charity team?
A. I am running with Brigham and Women?s Hospital Research CentersLife. Giving. Breakthroughs. marathon team. I chose BWH, specifically their cancer research center, in honor of my father who battled and won his bout with cancer, and in memory of my grandmother who passed away 16 years ago. Cancer has affected too many people that I know and I truly believe that the work that BWH does to diagnose, treat and prevent cancer is so important.
Q. What is your best/favorite running memory?
A. This past November I went with my family to the Dominican Republic. While I was there, I took the opportunity to go for a run along the beach. Feeling the warmth of the sand under my toes and looking out over the crystal-clear blue waters was a wonderful and relaxing experience, completely unlike the experience of running through this winter.
Q. What are you most looking forward to on Marathon day?
A. The environment and excitement of the spectators. I keep hearing from teammates and other runners that the atmosphere on Marathon Monday is unlike anything they have ever experienced.
Q. How long have you been running? How did you get into running?
A. I?ve only been running for a year. I started out last April and haven?t stopped. My mother and sister had been doing a 5K each year and they told me they were going to sign me up for the next one they did. I decided I needed to get into shape, bought some running shoes and haven?t stopped since.
Q. Do you have a target finish time?
A. Realistically, I would like to finish in around the 4:15 mark.
Q. What is something you’d like non-runners to understand?
A. A year ago I wondered why anyone would ever run. As I began running, I started getting that ?runner?s euphoria? after every run and I realized how enjoyable and soothing running actually was. You get to compete against yourself, constantly improving and bettering your time and distance. All it takes is starting out by putting one foot in front of the other and you are on your way.
Q. What are your thoughts going into the marathon?
A. I am a mixed bag of emotions from nervousness to extreme excitement. It?s amazing to think about all the hard work that goes into training for a marathon and raising money for charity.
As told to Katie Morrison