Joseph Tierney is running Boston in honor of his father’s legacy

"The Tierney Learning Center provides the dreamers with the support, encouragement, and the necessary tools to create a better life for themselves."

April 14, 2024

2 minutes 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: Joseph Tierney
Age: 45
From: West Roxbury

I believe that we can achieve any goal we set for ourselves, that nothing is out of our reach. I carry this hope because of my father, Joe “Sonny” Tierney. He was an uncompromising optimist, who lived in hope and dwelled in possibility. He grew up with little more than a belief in himself and a supportive community, yet he achieved so much: he built a successful law practice, he was a five-time president of the Boston City Council, and he was the ideal father, as he raised a fighter who refuses to accept failure, who perpetually fights the good fight.

This perspective saved my life. I achieved the impossible thirty years ago. In 1994, at the age of 15, I was hit by a car. The prognosis was grim. The likelihood of survival was low, the possibility of a full recovery was laughable. After a traumatic brain injury, a fifteen-day coma, and many other challenges, I only saw a full recovery in my future, a return to normalcy. I envisioned this unattainable goal because I was taught to live in hope and dwell in possibility, and I achieved it because I believed in myself, was a member of a supportive family and community, and resigned to fight until I had nothing left. Thirty years later, I’m running in the Boston Marathon. They told me I couldn’t and that’s why I did.

In honor of my father’s legacy, the Joseph Tierney Learning Center, located in the Homes at Old Colony, supports people just like my father. Individuals with big dreams, but minimal resources. Like the myriad community organizations in his community, the Old Colony development, during the 1940’s and 1950’s, the Tierney Learning Center provides the dreamers with the support, encouragement, and the necessary tools to create a better life for themselves.

My father taught me that nothing is impossible. That mindset saved my life, and the Tierney Learning Center embodies that maxim. I run to solidify the foundation of the community that shaped his beliefs, and to honor his legacy. I am running in the Boston Marathon to raise awareness and funds for the Joseph Tierney Learning Center.

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