Lift, practice, games, school, repeat. The life of a Division I student-athlete may seem like a marathon. But that was not enough for one River Hawk. UMass Lowell field hockey rising junior Maggie Dowd (Worcester, Mass.) added training for and running an actual marathon, the 128th Boston Marathon to be exact, to her plate in support of her family and a good cause this past April.
“My mom actually called me towards the end of the field hockey season in the fall, and she was like, ‘I really think we should do this and I said ‘What are you talking about? I’m not running a marathon.’ But then we talked about it and thought about it, and I really wanted to do it with her,” explained Maggie. “I never thought that I’d have an opportunity for us to run together, so I really wanted to do that.”
Getting the chance to cross the finish line on Boylston Street is not something everyone gets the chance to do, and getting to do it with a family member was the opportunity of a lifetime for both Maggie and her mom, Jane Dowd, that they just could not pass up.
“I’ve ran six Boston Marathons and I keep going back because nothing pushes you like that, and it really is such an achievement,” said Jane Dowd. “When Maggie went off to school, I was cleaning her room at one point, and she had a list of goals, and one of them was to run the Boston Marathon. I was so excited by the possibility of doing that with her because I’m almost 50 and I’m getting to the end of being able to do this. Once we made it official, it was all we talked about, almost every night, we couldn’t stop getting excited about it.”
Maggie and her mom, Jane, ran in association with an organization that is close to their family’s heart. The Herren Project is a national nonprofit organization providing free resources and support for the treatment, recovery and prevention of substance use disorder. Treatment and recovery services include treatment placement assistance, long-term recovery support for individuals and families, online support groups, as well as scholarships for treatment programs, recovery housing and recovery coaching.
“We ran for the Herren Project, which is for substance use prevention and treatments. It’s really close to our family,” commented Maggie. “My uncle got treatment there a few years ago and now he’s working as an alumni coordinator, and he is really close with Chris Herren, who’s the founder of it, so through that I have gotten to see all the work Chris does, how much he fully believes in what he does and cares for everyone that he helps, and I really wanted to be a part of that. I also got to know Chris in high school when I became an ambassador for the organization and had a club at school, so it all kind of added up to where we are now.”
In total, the Dowd duo raised over $24,000 for the organization.
“We started raising money as soon as we could and we were very, very blessed by the communities that surround us, and the friends and the family that surround us that jumped into fundraise,” explained Jane. “Our priority was to raise the funds and everybody believed in the organization we were running for. They knew what it meant to our family. I lost my sister to a substance related accident at the age of 22.”
Training started right away for Maggie and Jane, but for Maggie, her training regimen looked a bit different than a typical marathoner due to balancing the demands of being a Division I athlete.
“During the offseason, we’re in the weight room five days a week conditioning, so, I was making sure that field hockey came first,” explained Maggie. “Usually, if you’re training for a marathon, you’re training probably four to five days a week, but I was including all of my runs, bike workouts and lifts from field hockey, so I was doing three runs a week. There was one really long run, a mid-run, which would probably be eight or nine miles, and then a smaller one, which would be three to five miles.”
“It’s crazy to have so many things on your plate, and she just balances it all,” commented teammate Cate Kleeman (Gibbsboro, N.J.). “I don’t even know how because first of all, being an athlete and a student alone is difficult, but she’s a nursing student, so she has to get those good grades and she’s balanced training for a marathon on top of it. And then with field hockey, she came to practice and did all the same drills, lifts and run tests, as the rest of us and she never complained, even when she had a 15 or 20-mile run on the weekend that she was doing in addition.”
The months of training proved to be grueling. When her teammates were done with school and field hockey and enjoying downtime, she had more running on the docket.
“It was definitely really hard and filled with emotions, but I knew I wanted to finish on race day,” stated Maggie. “When you’re really tired after a long day of school and practice, you don’t really want to go run 10 miles, but I knew it was going to be really painful if I didn’t train, so I made sure to keep on top of that.”
Training mostly in Lowell with her mom at home in Worcester, Maggie’s teammates made sure she wasn’t alone.
“My teammates were really helpful. Whenever I had a long run and I was running here, they’d be scootering beside me and keeping me company throughout the whole thing or texting me on long runs, just making sure that I was good. I knew that I wasn’t doing it alone, they were with me every step of the way.”
“There were some nights she ran seven miles on the treadmill, and I ran three next to her before I was like, ‘Okay, I’m walking.’ But then I’d just walk next to her on the treadmill while she’s running just so that she had some company. It was just really awesome to be there right next to her and say, ‘you’re dedicated to this, you’re putting in the work, you’re going to make sure that you finish that marathon.’ So I think just to have the companionship of our team, I think really helped her.”
Despite being apart during the training months, Maggie and Jane would send texts, pictures and videos during their runs to stay in touch. After months of tirelessly training and raising money, the big day, April 15, had arrived.
“I definitely was extremely nervous before the start of the race, but I had the chance to see a couple of my coaches and teammates, so that definitely helped me calm down,” remembered Maggie. “Throughout the run, I wouldn’t say there was ever a point where I didn’t think I could continue. The crowd and everyone cheering just kept me going. Seeing my family during the race was really cool. They were around mile 12 and then they went to the finish line, which was awesome.”
Fighting through leg cramps and fatigue with the help of another Herren Project runner, Maggie pushed on down the stretch. Then at mile 25, she got the last boost she would need to propel her to a strong finish.
“Seeing my teammates at mile 25, that’s a moment I’ll never forget, for sure. Seeing how much it meant to them, seeing them crying and grabbing me, you could see how proud they were of me and I was just so grateful. Especially at the end, you’ve got a mile left and at this point your legs are gone, but just seeing them got me so excited I sprinted off, it was so incredible.”
“When she came into our sights, we all just started chanting, ‘Maggie, Maggie, Maggie,’ and even the strangers next to us all joined in,” Kleeman reminisced. “As she came down the line, I was sobbing and bawling my eyes out. So many of our teammates were just so emotional because we watched her train for months, we were with her when she trained, and she never complained. And here she is, a mile from the finish line. It was just an incredible moment and then as she gave the last of us a hug and she ran off with so much energy. It was incredible to give her a little extra boost before she crossed the finish line.”
Maggie then took the famous left and charged onto the finish line. After catching her breath, her next mission began, which was to be there for her mom when she finished.
“I don’t know how she did it, how she was able to get back in, but the second I hit that yellow line, she was right there to hug me, and it was so special,” recalled Jane, while fighting back tears. “I had all the marathons and everything I’ve done, but that moment, was just the best. There was nothing like it. I couldn’t believe she was there. And not only was Maggie still there, but her whole team was, too. I was like, ‘These poor kids, they’ve been in Boston from early in the morning and here they still are, screaming like I just won the race!'”
“I waited at the finish line and I was right there when she passed, so I think I was the first person she saw, which was so amazing and another moment that I’ll really cherish,” added Maggie. “Just seeing her crossing, I was so proud of her. She’s such a big inspiration for me, like any hard thing that comes her way, she just finds a way to get through it.”
The pride is mutual in the Dowd household, though.
“I am so proud of Maggie every day. That kid has more grit than anybody I’ve ever met, and she puts it all out there when she gets into something. Her whole heart is there and she’s a great teammate, a great inspiration to me. I’ve gotten to watch her become an athlete and watch her games, but then being out there with her for this was just so special. She inspires me every day.”
Running the Boston Marathon together was an unforgettable experience for Maggie and Jane, and one that will impact them for the rest of their lives.
“I just feel like I’m much more confident in all of my abilities,” concluded Maggie. “I can say to myself, ‘if you can do this, you can do anything.'”
Making the Boston Marathon a River Hawk Family Affair
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