‘There is so much joy and support that goes into a marathon’
Philip Lam is running for the Pine Street Inn.
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 #WhyImRunningBoston story here.
Name: Philip Lam
Age: 31
From: Reading, MA
My name is Philip Lam and I am so excited to run in the 127th Boston Marathon to raise money to support the incredible work at Pine Street Inn. I’ve run five marathons total, including in 2013 during the Boston Marathon bombing, where I didn’t finish. The 2013 Boston Marathon was such a perfect day. I’ll never forget how special it was seeing people cheering everyone on. I told myself that I would not let someone make it such a terrible day in my memory forever. So, here we are on the tenth anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Ten years ago, I was a junior at Boston College, volunteering at Pine Street Inn as part of the 4 Boston Program. That spring, I ran as a “bandit runner” as part of BC’s Campus School team at the 117th Boston Marathon, never finishing that day, but promising that I would one day come back and finish the race. There is so much joy and support that goes into a marathon; the strangers who cheer you on and the volunteers urging the runners to put one foot in front of the other, all to help each other cross the finish line. I try to use that memory as an inspiration for what I do today.
Editor’s note: Entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
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