For coach Don Megerle and the Tufts Marathon Team, the Boston Marathon has neither a beginning nor an ending. Megerle, who's gentle and disarming affect betray a legacy of unparalleled achievement, is the leader in not just name, but also in spirit, of a team that has been pounding the pavement down Boylston Street for 12 years.
The Boston Marathon, for Megerle and his team, is merely a series of phases. After a brief interlude following the end of the race and its concomitant festivities, the process -- recruitment, fundraising, training -- starts anew.
Come late September, there is an official call for runners from University President Anthony Monaco's office: certain respondents are given priority, with alumni the main beneficiaries. The roster typically fills up in 15-20 hours, as it did this year, when 156 runners composed the Tufts Marathon Team roster. Training commences shortly thereafter, and the roster is finalized at the end of January.
Megerle puts his team on a strict regimen of interval training, upped as time elapses and overall fitness increases. Each week mirrors the week before -- runners convene on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays, and also on five marathon course-days interspersed throughout.
"I beat the heck out of [them]," Megerle said. "[But] if [they're] going to be there at 2 p.m., you better be there, too."
To offset the inevitable physical stress, Megerle includes perks like clinics in sports medicine, nutrition and tapering, as well as access to any of the team's three trainers. On a more personal level, at the end of every team run, Megerle sets up a table of refreshments for the runners replenish after a workout.
Composed of undergraduates (primarily seniors), graduate students, alumni and friends of Tufts, the team -- in addition to accomplishing the ultimate goal of crossing the marathon finish line -- sets a fundraising goal each year. The 2014 team settled on $500,000, of which over $440,000 has been raised. In keeping with the fitness component of the endeavor, the money will go toward several health-centric initiatives at the Friedman School of Nutrition.
Although the training and fundraising are at the core of the Tufts Marathon Team, these tangible aspects do not what capture what it means to run with the team.
The capacity, according to Megerle, to overcome 26.2 grueling miles undergirds his philosophy; the same philosophy that has generated a success rate of 99.6 percent, virtually unheard of among non-professionals.
"Ninety-nine percent, probably 100 percent, is mental," Megerle said. "Everyone talks about this wall -- there is no wall. The primary guiding light, so to speak, is to complete the marathon. Barring injury, I'll get you from Hopkinton to Boston, guaranteed."
For senior Hannah Bassett, her coach's wisdom has rung true from day one. Bassett, who trained with the team in her sophomore year, but was forced to bow out due to a stress fracture, rejoined the team in the fall to finish what injury had once rendered unattainable. Having redoubled her effort, she accomplished her goal yesterday -- but her journey was not without obstacles.
Though she healed sufficiently to run the marathon, Bassett's stress fracture has nagged, and symptoms have repeatedly cropped up. Relapsing, typically in the form of crippling self-doubt, afflicts indiscriminately, as runners of a wide range of abilities experience it at one time or another. Bassett was no exception.
"Over winter break, when I wasn't with the team, was the hardest," Bassett said.
Thankfully, Megerle was at her side through every physical therapy appointment, a vital, unremitting source of encouragement during the worst of the doldrums.
"His compassion for everyone makes you feel connected," Bassett added. "His energy is so high. There's [also] a connection among all members of the team."
Anxiety once held her back as well, but that, too, has been allayed by a relaxed running environment created by her coach, who deliberately does not foster competitiveness among his athletes -- no barking out of splits; no emphasis on individual times.
Along with her teammates, Bassett trained her way up to half-marathons and then to longer distances. They began in September doing four miles two times per week, gradually working their way to the apex of their body of work. Since then, the team tapered off in order to prepare for the big day.
"I think, to some people, the thought of a marathon is hard to fathom, but it really is straightforward," Bassett said. "I've been interested in running a marathon for a while, but I haven't always believed I could. By focusing on my achievements, I've really believed I can do it."
Belief and freedom from inhibition are the calling cards of this team. What Megerle lacks in guru pedigree he more than compensates for in unlocking potential in his runners -- which they internalize to prodigious avail. It is nothing short of miraculous that runners from across the spectrum come together under the guidance of Megerle to complete the Boston Marathon.
"It's a big statement, but with his training, anyone who starts with him can finish with him," Bassett said.
