North Bay's Running Grandpa completes his 5th Boston Marathon
Gerald Brazeau didn't start running until he was 60 — and he's taken part in 17 marathons since then
The weather was not ideal to run 42.2 kilometres but that's exactly what several runners from northeastern Ontario did this week, including North Bay's Gerald Brazeau.
Brazeau, 67, ran his fifth Boston Marathon on Monday. He completed the race in four hours, 17 minutes and 53 seconds.
"The weather was very cold, close to freezing," he told CBC's Up North.
"Torrential downpours with headwinds of up to 40 to 45 miles per hour. It rained so hard you could feel the water running down your body."
To date, Brazeau has run 17 marathons. In his family and on social media, he's known as "The Running Grandpa," a nickname given to him by his children and 10 grandchildren.
He says the recent race in Boston was a tough race to finish.
"At the finish line they gave us warming blankets and I was so cold I couldn't put it on," he said.
"A volunteer helped me put it on and I found my family waiting for me."
Following the race, he had a hot shower and had a warm bowl of clam chowder.
"That was so soothing, you know like comfort food," he said. "We had lobster and beer and celebrated."
Brazeau ran with the support of his family as his wife and daughter sat in the rain to cheer him on.
"You have to love them for doing that for me," he said.
Brazeau says it's always been his dream to run the Boston Marathon, but he didn't start working toward that goal until he was 60. At the time, he weighed 200 pounds.
A few weeks later, he started walking and eventually jogging. He worked his way up to running marathons.
"I've lost 60 pounds and I've trimmed down and I feel great," he said.
He says as long as he feels healthy and up for it, he'll keep working to qualify and run the Boston Marathon.