Dave and Cathy Gravel had no trouble finding the motivation to keep running during this past Sunday’s marathon and half marathon in Philadelphia. The pair, along with their running companions Fernando Braz and Jeannie Hallinan, dedicated their races to Eric Buckley, a friend and fellow Peabody resident who is battling Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. The group decided to run in Eric’s honor and trained diligently over the last several months to prepare. Their efforts were certainly not in vain: Dave completed the full marathon in 4 hours and 57 minutes, meeting his goal of finishing under the 5 hour mark, while Cathy ran the half marathon in personal best time of 2 hours and 17 minutes. As a follow-up to the race, the Gravels will help host a dinner/dance in Peabody on Saturday, November 26th from 7-11 PM. More information on their mission can be found at www.bucksbattle.org.
Also competing in the half marathon on Sunday was associate Dan Vassallo, who completed the course in 1:06:49, a personal best for the distance. His time earned him a ninth place finished overall in a highly competitive field. Dan is no stranger to the Philadelphia course; he won the full marathon last year. Congratulations to all three runners on a fantastic race weekend!
