Team MR8 names 20 to roster for NYC Marathon

Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans and Savin Hill's own Mike Christopher are among the 20 people picked to run in the New York City Marathon this fall on behalf of The Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation, known as Team MR8. The Dorchester-based organization created to honor the memory of the eight-year-old boy who lost his life in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, is still accepting additional applications on a rolling basis from runners who are already registered to run the 2014 TCS New York City Marathon, and who wish to support the Foundation.

The mission of the Foundation is “to honor Martin's message of ‘No more hurting people – peace’ by investing in education, athletics and community.”

“Having a team of runners honor Martin’s memory by running a major event like the TCS New York City Marathon gives strength to our family and brings people together to make a lasting difference in the world,” said Martin’s father Bill Richard in a statement issued on Tuesday. “We hope more registered runners will apply to join our team and carry my son’s message of peace and hope.”

Team MR8 issued a call for applications for NYC last month.

“We were impressed that every application we received was sincere and thoughtful. Just like we saw with our Boston Marathon charity team, many of the applications were emotional and told of personal experience with tragedy, perseverance, and heroism,” said Denise Richard, Martin’s mother. “We saw in this group, a very strong connection between New York City and our hometown of Boston. The team has a great core of New York City-area members, and many of our Boston-area runners are transplanted New Yorkers eager to help carry our story home.”

The runners named to Team MR8 today are:
1. Jim Aberdale, South Boston, MA
2. Howard Berkenblit, Sharon, MA
3. Amanda Bruno, Andover, MA
4. Michael Christopher, Dorchester, MA
5. Hal DeCoursey, Providence, RI
6. Clare Duffy, New York, NY
7. Jason Ebbeling, Colchester, CT
8. Bill Evans, South Boston, MA
9. Leo Fonseca, Jamaica Plain, MA
10. Kristin Golat, Staten Island, NY
11. Scott Hatch, Bradford, MA
12. Jill Hoss, Council Bluffs, IA
13. Meredith Johnston, Manhasset, NY
14. Robert Leary, New York, NY
15. Jessica Popik, Westminster, MA
16. John Puma, New York, NY
17. Marcie Redden, West Hartford, CT
18. Catherine Renehan, Charlestown, MA
19. Vicky Shen, South Boston, MA
20. Danny Venezia, Cambridge, MA

“We once again find ourselves wishing we had an entry for every applicant, because every one of them was deserving,” concluded Bill Richard. “We are very excited about fielding a team in the New York City Marathon, and are grateful to the New York Road Runners for this wonderful opportunity.”

Visit TeamMR8.org to support any of Team MR8’s runners, or to learn more about the team and the Foundation.


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