Making the Boston Marathon a River Hawk family affair

Lift, practice, games, school, repeat. The life of a Division I student-athlete may seem like a marathon. But that wasn't enough for one River Hawk. UMass Lowell field hockey rising junior Maggie Dowd (Worcester, Mass.) added training for and running an actual marathon, the 128^e To be precise, the Boston Marathon, which she ran last April in support of her family and a good cause.

“My mom called me towards the end of hockey season in the fall and said, 'I really think we should do this,' and I said, 'What are you talking about? I'm not going to run a marathon.' But then we talked about it and thought about it, and I really wanted to do it with her,” Maggie explained. “I never thought we would ever be able to run together, so I really wanted to do that.”

Not everyone gets the chance to cross the finish line on Boylston Street. For Maggie and her mother, Jane Dowd, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do so with a family member. It was an opportunity they simply couldn’t pass up.

“I've run six Boston Marathons and I keep going back because there's nothing that challenges you like that, and it's really an accomplishment,” Jane Dowd said. “When Maggie was in college, I was cleaning out her room and she had a list of goals, and one of them was to run the Boston Marathon. I was so excited about the opportunity to do that with her because I'm almost 50 and I'm almost done being able to do this. Once we made it official, it was all we talked about, almost every night, we couldn't stop getting excited.”

Maggie and her mother, Jane, run in partnership with an organization that is close to their family’s heart. The Herren Project is a national nonprofit that provides free resources and support for the treatment, recovery, and prevention of substance use disorders. Treatment and recovery services include treatment placement assistance, long-term recovery support for individuals and families, online support groups, as well as scholarships for treatment programs, recovery housing, and recovery coaching.

“We applied to the Herren Project, which focuses on substance abuse prevention and treatment. It's very close to our family,” Maggie said. “My uncle went to treatment there a few years ago and now he's the alumni coordinator. He's very close to Chris Herren, the founder. Because of that, I've been able to see all of Chris' work, how much he believes in what he does and cares about everyone he helps. I really wanted to be a part of that. I also met Chris in high school when I became an ambassador for the organization and had a club at school. All of that has helped get us to where we are today.”

In total, the Dowd duo raised more than $24,000 for the organization.

“We started raising money as soon as we could and we were very, very blessed by the communities around us, and the friends and family around us who threw themselves into the fundraising,” Jane explained. “Our priority was to raise money and everyone believed in the organization that we were running for. They knew what it meant to our family. I lost my sister at 22 to an accident with a drug addiction.”

Maggie and Jane began training immediately, but Maggie's training regimen looked a little different than that of a typical marathon runner, as she had to balance the demands of being a Division I athlete.

“During the off-season, we’re in the weight room five days a week training, so I made sure that hockey came first,” Maggie explained. “Normally, if you’re training for a marathon, you’d probably train four to five days a week, but I brought all of my runs, bike workouts, and lifts from hockey, so I was doing three runs a week. There was one really long run, a mid-run, which would probably be eight or nine miles, and then a smaller one, which would be three to five miles.”

“It's crazy to have so much on your plate, and she just makes sure everything is balanced,” her teammate said. Cate Kleeman (Gibbsboro, NJ) “I don't even know how, because first of all it's hard being an athlete and a student, but she's a nursing student, so she's got to get those good grades and she's also training for a marathon. And then she came to practice with field hockey and did the same drills and lifts and running tests as the rest of us and she never complained, even when she had a 15 or 20 mile run on the weekend that she was doing on the side.”

The months of training proved grueling. Once her teammates were done with school and hockey and enjoying the rest, she had more running on the agenda.

“It was definitely tough and emotional, but I knew I wanted to finish on race day,” Maggie said. “When you're really tired after a long day of school and training, you don't really want to run 10 miles, but I knew it was going to be really painful if I didn't train, so I made sure I stuck with it.”

Maggie trained primarily in Lowell while her mother was home in Worcester. Her teammates made sure she wasn't alone.

“My teammates were really supportive. Whenever I had a long run and I was running here, they would ride next to me on the scooter and keep me company all the time or text me during long runs to make sure I was doing well. I knew I wasn't doing it alone, they were there every step of the way.”

“There were nights when she would run seven miles on the treadmill, and I would run three of them next to her before I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to run.' But then I would just walk next to her on the treadmill while she was running, just so she had some company. It was just great to be there next to her and say, 'You're committed to this, you're committed, you're going to make sure you finish that marathon.' So I think having the company of our team really helped her.”

Despite being apart during the months of training, Maggie and Jane texted, posted photos, and videos during their runs to stay in touch. After months of tireless training and fundraising, the big day, April 15, arrived.

“I was definitely extremely nervous before the start of the race, but I had a chance to see some of my coaches and teammates, so that definitely helped calm me down,” Maggie recalled. “Throughout the race, I wouldn't say there was ever a point where I thought I couldn't keep going. The crowd and everyone cheering me on just kept me going. It was really cool to see my family during the race. They got to mile 12 and then they went to the finish line, which was awesome.”

Maggie, with the help of another Herren Project runner, battled leg cramps and fatigue and pushed through to the end, then at mile 25 she got the final boost she needed to propel her to a strong finish.

“When I saw my teammates at mile 25, that was a moment I'll never forget. When I saw how much it meant to them, when I saw them crying and hugging me, I saw how proud they were of me and I was just so grateful. Especially at the end, you've got a mile to go and at that point your legs are gone, but just seeing them, I got so excited that I sprinted away, it was so incredible.”

“When we saw her, we all started chanting, 'Maggie, Maggie, Maggie,' and even the strangers next to us all joined in,” Kleeman mused. “When she walked across the line, I was crying and crying my eyes out. So many of our teammates were just so emotional because we'd watched her train for months, we'd been with her when she trained, and she never complained. And here she is, a mile from the finish line. It was just an incredible moment and then she gave the last of us a hug and she ran off with so much energy. It was incredible to give her a little extra before she crossed the finish line.”

Maggie then took the famous left and stormed to the finish. After catching her breath, her next mission began, which was to be there for her mother when she finished.

“I don't know how she did it, how she got back, but as soon as I crossed the yellow line, she was there hugging me, and it was so special,” Jane recalled, fighting back tears. “I've run all the marathons and everything I've done, but that moment was just the best. There was nothing that could compare to it. I couldn't believe she was there. And not only was Maggie there, but her whole team was there. I thought, 'Those poor kids, they've been in Boston since early in the morning and here they are, still screaming like I just won the race!'”

“I was waiting at the finish line and I was there when she crossed, so I think I was the first one to see her, which was so amazing and a moment I'll really cherish,” Maggie added. “Just seeing her cross, I was so proud of her. She's such an inspiration to me, like with all the hard things that happen to her, she just finds a way to get through it.”

But in the Dowd family, the pride is mutual.

“I'm so proud of Maggie every day. That kid has more guts than anyone I've ever met, and she puts her all into something. She's got all her heart and she's a great teammate, a huge inspiration to me. I've watched her grow as an athlete and watched her compete, but when I was out there with her, it was just so special. She inspires me every day.”

For Maggie and Jane, running the Boston Marathon together was an unforgettable experience that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

“I just feel like I have a lot more confidence in all of my abilities,” Maggie concluded. “I can say to myself, 'If you can do this, you can do anything.'”