Inspired by members of the Delta Zeta sorority at their 5K race in 2009, iCIT staff member Thomas Paull has decided to compete in the Boston Marathon April 18.
Delta Zeta was raising money for the Painted Turtle Camp, which is one of the 14 Hole in the Wall Camps.
“These girls were really excited about this charity,” Paull said. “I decided I wanted to do a charity run for something like that.”
For the past couple of months, Paull has received donations toward Hole in the Wall Camps.
The camps are specifically designed for critically-ill children to enjoy a camping experience. The camps are provided free to the families because of donations like Paull’s.
Paull began running five years ago and lost 65 pounds. After getting healthy, he began looking for more out of life. He didn’t run his first marathon until he was 54 years old.
The Boston Marathon will be Paull’s ninth marathon in the past five years.
Paull has raised more than $3,400, but is hoping to reach his goal of $5,000 by April 5.
Paull said he runs three to four times per week, training on a three-month cycle before each marathon. He tries to work up to running 20 miles two weeks before the race.
His personal best is 4:05, which is what he’s hoping to run for the Boston Marathon. Four hours is about the average time for a marathoner, Paull said.
“The Boston Marathon organizers are very excited about runners raising money for charities,” Paull said. “There are a lot of people there that are running for different charities.”
There are more than 100 runners fundraising for The Hole in the Wall Camps by running the Boston Marathon this spring.
Sophomore Mike Roherty is also running the marathon, but not with Paull as a charity runner.
“I didn’t do this alone,” Paull said. “A lot of college students have helped me. It goes back to having been on this campus. It’s made me what I am.”
Last year, senior Griffin Schroeder and Jeff Metzger, who since graduated, participated in the Boston Marathon.
For anybody wishing to help Paull reach his $5,000 goal for the camps, there is a table set up in the University Center. The table has information regarding the camps and a jar to put donations.
To donate to Paull’s specific cause, visit www.uww.edu/students, click on “UW-Whitewater This Week” under announcements and scroll down to the brief about Paull. There is a link there to his donation page for Hole in the Wall Camps.
“It’s never too late to start,” Paull said. “It seems insane to be doing this at my age, but it can be done. If you can walk, you can run a marathon.”
