The Tribune | Weekend | 05
Friday, October 22, 2021
THE SIX-member team that ran the virtual Boston Marathon
JAY’S mother, Sharon Kelly
determined that we would die before stopping. Giving up was never really an option,” he said. Indeed, Jay’s determination was so strong that he even finished the race despite twisting his ankle in the days prior to the race. “My mother had the opportunity to go to Jerusalem and when she was there,she did an event where you could retrace the step in Jesus’ Crucifixion and carry a cross, and she had twisted her ankle, but she did it anyway, so I figured if she could do it, so could I,” he said. The past year has proven challenging for many fitness buffs, particularly given the closing of gyms during lockdowns and curfews.
“My mother had the opportunity to go to Jerusalem and when she was there,she did an event where you could retrace the step in Jesus’ Crucifixion and carry a cross, and she had twisted her ankle, but she did it anyway, so I figured if she could do it, so could I.”
But Jay said that he made things work by working out at home and running around his immediate neighbourhood. “I think that the pandemic really showed is that we have to make things happen, When you ask people why they don’t work out, often they will say they don’t have the money and they don’t have the time, but in this pandemic, we had the time. They just really need the motivation,” he said. “So my advice to people is to just get started. I have always been the type person to just jump first and then consider the result after.”
JAY’S aunt, Tina Kelly
Jay said he lives by a quote from actor Will Smith, who once said, “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.” And because he lives his life according to this motto, he said preparing for the marathon was not as difficult as it could have been. “I did have to focus on tweaking one or two things, but mentally I was strong and ready and that is a big part of training. I think we were all prepared for about three months, working our way up to the mileage.” This year marked the 125th running of the Boston Marathon. About 70,000 participants worldwide took part in the virtual version of the race.
