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Aaron Burros is running Boston to honor a friend’s life

Burros has raised money for three Boston Marathons in a row.

Aaron Burros is running his fifth marathon to honor the life of the brother of his friend, Kristi Thorton.

March 18, 2022

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. If you’re running the marathon, you can share your story here.

Name: Aaron Burros
Age: 51
From: Houston, Texas

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What should’ve been a triumphal year of celebrating her first marathon turned into a tragic year of mourning the loss of her brother Caleb. Kristi Thorton planned to toe the line at the Houston Chevron Marathon but the pain of losing her brother was too much to carry for 26.2 miles after her brother was involved in a car accident. Instead, she asked the community to do an act of kindness in honor of her brother and post it on social media using the hashtag #26forCaleb.

When Kristi asked me to honor her brother, I took it seriously and began praying to the Lord God of all comfort as to what I should do. He placed on my heart to run the world’s major marathons. That was in the summer of 2018.

I signed up for London as a charity runner for Scope then I was welcomed aboard the Team for Kids train for Berlin, Chicago, and New York Marathons all in 2019 with Tokyo (Tour Package) and Boston (Hale Education) Marathons slated for 2020. But then the pandemic hit and Tokyo canceled while Boston went virtual and wasn’t held for the first time in its 124-year history.

I ran the first-ever virtual Boston Marathon then fundraised a second time to run the 125th Boston Marathon for my fifth star. Sadly, due to unfortunate circumstances, the timing company didn’t record the time according to the new COVID rolling start, and I didn’t get an official time.

So, here we go again fundraising a third consecutive time to run Boston for my fifth star. This wouldn’t be an issue if it were not for the fact that I have a disability with muscle power in my right gluteus maximus and leg as a result of being the victim of a workplace shooting six years ago. The longer this 6 Star Challenge journey is taking the weaker my running is getting — Tokyo is in 2023 with the stricter course timing of all six Abbott World Marathon Majors. This is my why.

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