ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Hazel Boyd will compete in her third Boston Marathon this month.
By KATIE MORRISON
LYNN — The running community is as tight-knit as they come, especially when it comes to marathon runners. Most are devoted to maintaining an active lifestyle, and that is especially true in the case of Lynn resident Hazel Boyd and her partner, Pam Merkel.
Both are running the Boston Marathon this year; for Boyd, it’s her third time and eighth marathon. For Merkel, it’s her second Boston Marathon and fourth overall.
Both say it’s nice to have a running partner, but the two have completely different styles and don’t always train together.
Merkel and Boyd run at different paces, but found that running together sometimes helps each of them achieve their own personal goals.
“I wanted to slow down and pace myself, and Pam wanted to get faster,” Boyd said.
The two ran a half-marathon in Hyannis after Merkel finished an Ironman in 2014, and with Merkel trying to set a personal record and Boyd trying to pace herself, they found that their goals aligned so perfectly that they started the race alongside each other, each pushing the other.
Running and staying active has become an integral part of their lives, so much so that Boyd and Merkel have planned vacations around races. But for both of them, nothing quite compares to their experiences at the Boston Marathon.
Boyd began running in 2014 after working the finish line during the 2013 Boston Marathon.
“I felt that we needed to take back the marathon on our own terms,” she said.
Merkel ran her first Boston Marathon last year and says that she’s a runner who likes to listen to music and stay within herself. But at Boston, it’s different.
“I never listened to music (during the race),” she said. “There’s something unique about the amount of energy from the crowd. They’re never not screaming for you.”
Boyd fondly remembers a moment last year when a little girl reached her tiny hand through the metal barrier, hoping for a runner to stop and give her a high five.
“I bent down and grabbed her hand, and she gave me this look,” Boyd said, imitating the girl’s stunned expression. “That gave me wings for the rest of the race. I needed that. It was like this perfectly synchronized moment in my life. I said ‘this is why I do what I do.’”
Boyd says that running Boston gets addicting, in a way. The Newport, R.I., native feels fortunate to be able to run one of the most revered marathon courses in the country.
“It was always a pipe dream of mine to run Boston,” she said. “The course is unlike any other.”
Boyd also stressed the benefits of running with a team. All three years, Boyd, who works at Boston Children’s Hospital, joined up with the Miles for Miracles team, which fundraises for the Children’s Hospital patients and programs. When Boyd ran the marathon in 2014, she ran as part of the team, but didn’t participate in many of the team events and training runs that Miles for Miracles hosts. This year, however, she’s all in.
“We all motivate each other,” said Boyd, who describes herself as the “class clown” of the team. “I started really coming out of my shell last year and I’ve made a lot of friendships through the team.”
Merkel, on the other hand, is running for the Dana Farber team. Merkel works at the Greater Boston Running Company in Swampscott, and a co-worker, who had been a member of the team for years, encouraged Merkel join for her first time running the marathon.
“Charity runners are amazing,” Boyd said. “I’ve met some charity runners who have more heart than Olympians. They’re so full of humanity.”
“I encourage everyone to get involved, whether it’s running or volunteering,” Merkel added. “Just to be a part of that energy somehow.”