Christopher DiOrio is running Boston for the ‘back of the pack’ athletes

"I’m running because I couldn’t, and now, I can."

April 14, 2024

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon runners share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston.

Name: Christopher DiOrio
Age: 56
From: Whitman

This will be my fourth Boston Marathon running for Massachusetts General Hospital’s Pediatric Cancer Clinic. I’m running because these kids and their families are fighting a daily fight that trotting over 26.2 miles will never match.

Personally, I’m also running for the folks who aren’t elite, the folks that trickle in at the end, the “back of the pack” folks. A few years back, I weighed over 400 pounds, and running 100 yards was a chore. I’m running because when folks look at me, they don’t think “marathoner.” I’m running because I couldn’t, and now, I can. I’m running to be a small bit of inspiration for these kids, but also for the now numerous folks who see me, and say to themselves, “If he can do that, so can I.”

I’m in the back nine of my life, and more and more I want my days to mean something. If part of that means spending six or seven hours plodding on the road from Hopkinton to that “right on Hereford, left on Boylston” for those who can’t, to raise money to help kids who are suffering from a disease they had no hand in contracting, for those who need what I can do, for those who want to and just need that push, that’s the greatest gift I can give.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.