By Sean Sullivan

Rise early and fundraise often. That seems to be the winning formula for Natick residents participating in this year’s Boston Marathon. Runners who don’t qualify for the event in terms of speed are invited to participate if they can solicit sufficient funds for charities and nonprofit groups.

The Boston Athletic Association distributes a finite number of runner’s bibs to a select group of organizations, and these in turn set their own fundraising goals - a minimum dollar amount each runner agrees to and must reach in order to run the race. 

The fundraising gives added purpose to the “selfish pursuit” of running, said Ellen Banthin. “As long as I can continue raising the money, I do it.”

                                                                 Michelle Banthin

Banthin is a Natick resident and regular runner. This month, she’ll be pounding the pavement for Project Hope, a Boston-area resource that provides shelter and myriad services for homeless women with children in Boston.

“They do so much work with women who are really down on their luck,” said Banthin. “It’s really, really a special place. They’re able to get back out there and get an apartment.”

The mainstay of Banthin’s training routine are days of shorter runs (6-8 miles), punctuated every so often by longer distances.

“Twenty-one if I’m having an exceptional day,” she said. “I’ve been a runner for a very long time.”

Mid March, Banthin was recovering from an 18-miler she’d done over the weekend. Yoga and Spinning classes round out her training regimen. She last ran the Boston Marathon in 2019.  

Distance running is of course famous for the investment in effort required. But those many miles also require a significant sacrifice of time. Longer runs, upwards of 20 miles during training season, mean hours at a time spend out on the road.

While most people are still snug under covers during these winter months, runners training for a marathon are out going the distance under cover of night. For many runners, this means hitting the pavement during the day’s smallish hours, before work and family life begins.

So while Natick’s nocturnal running scene goes largely unseen, it nevertheless has quite a following. These dark and cold runs are made more bearable, many have said, by fellow runners who share in the experience.

“It’s so much more fun with friends,” said Banthin. 

In New England, navigating the roller coaster of weather and road conditions comes with the territory. Freezing mornings can follow a fluke 55-degree day, surprising runners with stray sheets of ice here and there. But that tap dancing around treacherous terrain , said Banthin, is part of running’s appeal.     

                                                             Sophanny McArdle

“It’s like a game. It really gets me through the winter.”

The surface of Massachusetts roads tend to be as irregular and random as its weather. During a run days before, Sophanny McArdle took time out to send a text about a near-tumble related to topography. A curb was the culprit, that tried-and-true tripper of many a runner.

“Almost went down,” read McArdle’s missive.

The Natick mom chose Natick Community Organic Farms as the recipient of her running. This will be McArdle’s seventh marathon, her third in Boston.

After many months of training for the 2020 Boston Marathon, the event was converted into a virtual race due to the pandemic. Runners designed their own routes, kept track of mileages and times. For many runners, this year’s in-person marathon will mean a comeback from Covid.

“I’m excited and I’m nervous,” said McArdle. “It’s my redemption run.”

She starting running around 2015, partly as a way to get moving after the birth of her second child. Crossing the finish line as the culmination of so many miles and hours of training can be addictive. A  sort of selective athletic amnesia can set in, a phenomenon many distance runners can relate to.

“I think after you run one of these fun races, you’re like ‘I can do it again.’ You get the bug. Then you forget how awful it was.”

But it’s the training routines in between those brief moments of finish-line triumph that seem to hold the greatest appeal for distance runners. The exertion and focus required of running leaves little brain bandwith for the multitasking that otherwise so easily intrudes upon our minds.

“I get time to myself,” said McArdle. “It’s like a great time to think and meditate. The running community is crazy and they’re fun. It just makes the miles go by so much quicker.”

Days after McArdle’s close call with a curb, Natick’s Aaron Stevens sprained his ankle navigating one. These are the hazards no amount of running experience can fully inoculate against.  A longtime runner, Stevens’ standard goal is one marathon per month.

“I got out of bed and knew right away I had a problem,” he said of that ankle, and the sprain put in question his plans to run a Marathon a week later on Sunday. He was to visit his father then in North Carolina, bringing his own son along for the trip, and planned to run the state’s Tobacco Road Marathon.

To go, or not to go. The question was answered the same day Stevens awoke feeling the pain of that sprain. His son hours later tested positive for Covid, effectively putting the kibosh on the trip.

Stevens ran 11 marathons in 2019, but has found the pandemic a formidable obstacle to running regular organized races.

“It’s been hard to get in a groove,” he said. “There’s so many calculations to figure this thing out.”

Stevens shoots for five days of running per week, and like his running partners, hits the road before daybreak most days. The 5:00 a.m. sessions are a ritualistic start to the day, and prevent running routines from interfering with family and work.

This winter has also been a worthy competitor, said Stevens. While March was a relatively mild month to get those miles in, the precipitation of its predecessors had been a challenge. Sidewalks and byways were frequently frosted with ice and snow.

“January and February were so tough,” he said. “I struggled. I really did.”

But these days, said Stevens, running has become more about community than personal bests. He strives instead to bring his marathon experience to bear in helping others achieve their goals. He chose to run for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and this will mark his seventh marathon to benefit the organization.  

“I think my fastest marathon is behind me,” he said. “And that’s OK.”             

As a way to keep moving and safe, Natick’s Tara Bharadwaj got a stationary cycle when the pandemic first started panning out. Having just graduated college, she completed two half marathons this past fall, and Boston this month will mark her first full.

Bharadwaj chose Family Promise Metrowest for her charity, a Natick organization that offers shelter and services to families experiencing homelessness.

“Basically, they have a 100-percent success rate,” she said.

Bharadwaj’s typical training routine entails running four days per week, including one long-distance day of up to 18 miles.    

“I’m just trying to get the miles under my feet. That’s all I need to do.”    

As an incentive to maximize commitment, many charities require runners to come up with the balance if they fail to achieve fundraising goals set by the organization. Knowing those dollars might come out of pocket, runners are incentivized to avoid coming up hundreds or thousands short of the minimum. Thus the hustle to raise funds runs alongside the many miles toward completing the marathon, and runners are often soliciting donations up until race day and beyond.

Natick’s Michelle Barbin called her running journey “road therapy.” Those extended bouts of exertion offer a break for the brain and bolster the body. She had knee surgery several years ago, and said the sport has helped her recover strength, functionality and focus. Her last few years have been injury free.

“Running’s kind of always done that for me,” she said. “I spent a lot of time rebuilding my lower body.”

Barbin has been training on the actual marathon route, focusing on becoming more familiar with Newton’s notorious rolling peaks and nadirs, including the event’s Everest - Heartbreak Hill. A typical routine starts at Marathon Sports in Wellesley, runs west to Wellesley College, and then doubles back and beyond the starting point to a finish at Boston College.

“I like the challenge of it,” said Barbin. “You get to prove yourself every time you step outside. What I put into it, I get out of it.”                       

Barbin ran in that rare autumn Boston Marathon last October. The race was a makeup for the event cancelled due to the pandemic. Then, she ran on behalf of the Natick Service Council; this month, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute will be the beneficiary. The organization has stated that it’s seeking to raise $5.5 million during this year’s marathon.

“Everybody has a connection to cancer,” said Barbin. She added that fighting on the frontlines against a pervasive disease is the purview of healthcare professionals, but backing them up is a form of support anyone can undertake.

“I can’t do a lot of things,” said Barbin. “But I can run. I figure, why not me?”