James Redding is running to fulfill a promise to his mother
"That was what we thought our limit was... until I suggested that we run a marathon."
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. If you’re running the marathon, you can share your story here.
Name: James Redding
Age: 18
From: Boston
Since August 2019, I have been running. My mom and I started our running journey together, with the goal of running one 5k a month for a year just to stay in shape.
As we got used to running 5k’s, and got better at them, we increased our distance to a 10k, which soon turned into a half marathon. That was what we thought our limit was… until I suggested that we run a marathon.
After some prodding, I convinced my mother to apply to run the Boston Marathon for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the institution that saved her life when I was a toddler. To our disappointment, I was not yet old enough to run it with her at the time.
My mom got the number and ran in 2022. This was the first race that we didn’t run together, but I promised her that I would train with her and cheer her on in Boston and run a different marathon.
I also promised I’d run Boston too, when I was old enough. I fulfilled my first promise to her in October 2022 by running my first marathon, the Maine Marathon, in Portland, Maine.
Now that I am 18, it’s time to fulfill that last part of my promise.
Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
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