When Drew Sandifer, CSOM ’22, joined club running in his freshman year at Boston College, he was quickly talked into running a marathon from upperclassmen. He started running in highschool where he said his younger brother was the best runner on the team and his two best friends were co-captains.
“I ended up falling in love with it and have been doing it ever since,” Sandifer said.
During his freshman year at BC, Sandifer ran his first marathon, the York Marathon in Pennsylvania. But he said it did not go well and he did not qualify for the Boston Marathon. Despite persevering with his love for the sport, his plans were derailed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of his sophomore year.
Last May, Sandifer ran the 2021 Providence Marathon and ended up qualifying for the 2022 Boston Marathon. He said he started training around Christmas time and competed in two races before Boston—the Super Sunday 5K/5 Miler in Cambridge this February and the New Bedford Half Marathon in March.
Seven weeks before the marathon, Sandifer said he tested positive for COVID-19, which posed a challenge, as he was unable to train while in quarantine. Though definitely not a part of the plan, he said he only missed a few training days and was back on his feet shortly after.
As a senior, passing Mile 21 was an even more special accomplishment for Sandifer, he said.
“I’ve wanted to run the marathon as a BC student since I came to BC,” Sandifer said. “Finally getting that experience was really cool. The people I wanted to be out there watching me were there, so it meant a lot.”
