Following in her mother’s footsteps, Brigid Knowles, MCAS ’23, made the decision to run the marathon early this winter. When she began training in January, her mother’s training plan for the New York City Marathon guided her approach.
Growing up in Larchmont, N.Y., Knowles said she got into running from playing sports her whole life and because her parents were avid runners. After playing lacrosse and field hockey in high school, Knowles now plays club lacrosse at BC.
“It was always something I kind of grew up doing both inside and outside of sports and [I] kind of fell in love with it, I guess,” Knowles said.
Knowles ran for Special Olympics Massachusetts, an organization which she volunteered for growing up and continues to at BC. The cause is also personal, as she said her Aunt Colleen has Down syndrome. Knowles contacted the organization to inquire about its team for this year. She said she then interviewed before the team later accepted her.
Although nervous about reaching her fundraising goal at first, Knowles said her family and friends helped her to reach it.
Her friends and family also supported her on the day of the race, with her family cheering her on at Mile 14, her friends at Mile 21, and her cousins and family at the finish line.
Throughout the race, Knowles said she felt an outpour of support from the whole community of Boston and Massachusetts, but especially from her friends and the BC community at Mile 21. The adrenaline rush she felt from the energy of the environment helped her to overcome the pain from some minor injuries sustained during her training, she said.
“The BC community is so supportive to each other in everything and this was definitely no exception towards that,” Knowles said. “And it was just such a fun, crazy environment and definitely the last push I needed to get to the finish line.”
