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Babylonian to run in Boston Marathon
No stranger to marathons, Hanley, ran the New York Marathon three times- in 1996, 1997 and 2000. In 2002, he traveled to Ireland to run the Dublin Marathon where he achieved his personal best time: 3 hours and 52 minutes. Nonetheless, the Boston Marathon, the oldest annual marathon in the U.S. and the most competitive, is somewhat daunting. "The Boston Marathon is an entirely different league," he said. "It' s like running with the big kids." A resident of the Babylon area for more than 40 years, Hanley enjoys running in his local area and can often be spotted training along the Massapequa Trail on weekends, a run that has not been easy with this winter's heavy snowfall. But he says that the goal isn't just getting up and out in the cold weather, "it's staying up on that ice." Hanley took up running in 1991 when his late wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. "Once I started, I just kept on running and running like Forest Gump," he said. To prepare for a marathon,he runs at least five days a week for six hours or more. On weekends, he might do more than that. Hanley , who owns a company that sells vinyl, sometimes has to travel out of the country. When he does, keeping up with his training can be difficult. But he says, "training canbe difficulteven when he's not traveling." Running with friends helps," he said. "It's hard to go it alone with training that essentially runs your life." The Boston Marathon, which draws some of the country's most elite runners, is a 26.2 mile trek around the city. According to the marathon website, Hanley is one of only 119 runners out of the 22,500 who are over the age of 70. "It is a lot of fun for the first 16 or 18 miles," Hanley said. "But when you reach the wall, you're depleted and it's so easy to say to yourself- why am I doing this?'" He has 11 reasons- his grandchildren. "It is nice to not only be able to test yourself mentally and physically, but also to be an example to my children and grandchildren as to what you can achieve," he said. Among those cheering him on this year will be his daughter, Tricha Hanley, and her two daughters, Annie, 7, and Kate, 5.
When asked how many more marathons he plans to do, Hanley said he often tells himself just before a race that "this is the last one." But then comes the next race and a new challenge he can't resist.
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