Marathon leftovers: Two Sargent School teachers took aim on Boston

Apr. 24—Marathon Monday was a big day for the Annie Sargent elementary school in North Andover. A veteran and a rookie, both teachers at the school, had the time of their lives.

Jeanne Caron (5th grade) and Taylor Sanders (3rd grade) took part in the famed race.

Caron is the veteran, completing her 25th straight Boston Marathon, entering the famed "Quarter-Century Club." The 50-year-old is a North Andover native and has been teaching in the same classroom for 27 years.

Sanders, 25, ran her first Boston Marathon.

Sargent School Phys. Ed teacher, Ally Buonfiglio, ran with Sanders at Stonehill College and was part of their "support" group during training for Boston.

Caron noted one of her heroes and now friend, Katherine Switzer, has been inspiration.

"She paved the way for women running the Boston Marathon. I will always be grateful and thankful for her," said Caron. "I feel so fortunate and blessed to be part of it for 25 of them."

She added: "It brought tears to my eyes seeing all of the amazing crowds throughout the entire route and having students, good friends and family cheering me on every step of the way."

Whirlaway runners star at BostonA few of Whirlaway Racing Team's best runners had career days at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Former UMass Lowell star runner Mark Hegarty had a new personal record of 2:29:55, his best Boston and overall best marathon by three minutes.

Tim Poitras, of Dracut, who also ran at UMass Lowell, beat his previous best Boston time by over four minutes with an impressive 2:30:44. Steve Dowsett also beat his best Boston with a 2:44:44.

North Andover's John Gorman, 64, ran his 23rd straight and 33rd overall, finishing in 4:04:41.

Windham, N.H.'s Lauren Tilton broke the 3-hour barrier, finishing 11th overall in her 40-44 age group in 2:55:59.

Hampstead, N.H.'s Amy Bernard, the long-time Pinkerton Academy cross country coach, had a personal best of 3:30:29, beating her previous mark by 40 seconds.

Two Derry, N.H. residents excelled. Nadine Palmer, 54, finished her 21st straight Boston in 3:40:34 while Lisa Zappala, 61, the long-time athletic director at Notre Dame Academy in Tyngsboro, broke four hours with a time of 3:56:40 in her 21st straight Boston and 23rd marathon overall.

Deb Johnson, of Georgetown, finished in 3:58:46.

"Everyone on the team ran very well today in pretty much ideal conditions," said Whirlaway coach Dave Kazanjian. "We had a lot of personal bests out there and some outstanding performance by Mark, Tim, Lauren and Amy. As a coach, I couldn't have been prouder."

Greater Lawrence volunteers notedThe Family Medicine Residency and Greater Lawrence Family Health Center were well-represented at the Boston Marathon.

Two volunteers for the 126th Boston Marathon were the Director of Sports Medicine, Dr. Warren Bodine, and fourth-year Lawrence Family Medicine Resident, Dr. Katie De La Rosa, of Lawrence.

Cooper runs 17th straightLong-time Ch. 7 newsman Steve Cooper, of North Andover, ran his 17th consecutive Boston Marathon on Monday.

And as you can guess, 17th, like most of the others, was a charm.

"Every year is special but 2022 was extra special being back on the course on Patriots Day for the first time in three years," he said. "The crowds were incredible from start to finish. I felt like i was running through a scream tunnel for 26.2 miles."

He added: "There's a reason the Boston Marathon is the best in the world and that pride and resiliency was on full display Monday showing what it means to be Boston Strong."

MERRIMACK VALLEY STRIDERS

Norma DeFusco, Andover"This year's 126th Boston Marathon was a 26.2 mile party and memorable in so many ways. It was incredible being able to celebrate and participate in the 50th anniversary of the first official women's division in race history, returning to the traditional Patriots Day race date after 1,099 days. There were other great aspects including the weather, seeing my MVS friends at the start, finish and all along the route, seeing so many friends and family.

"I drew strength from their cheers and feeling so much positive energy and celebration along the whole route from start to finish. Everyone was so excited to be back."

"This was my 5th Boston and 9th marathon overall. Being able to qualify and run in the oldest and most prestigious marathon in the world is such and honor."

Sharon Johnson, Andover"It was a special day and an epic night. I can always count on the amazing support of friends, family, and our MVS family of runners and volunteers.

"We prepare for Boston for months and pray the running Gods will be kind on race day. and they were. It was a glorious day for running. I thoroughly planned race day nutrition, got some much needed energy boosts from volunteers and Boston's amazing fans, stuck to the race day strategy and the plan worked out.

"It's tough to describe the satisfaction and emotions of making the podium in Boston. It was especially meaningful this year as part of the women's 50th anniversary, running to inspire young women on the other side of the world, and meeting some of the most inspirational people in my life."

Shane and Amanda Smith, North Andover

"We had both hoped to run Boston, but never dreamed we would run it together. Being new parents, we never thought Boston 2022 would be in the cards for us, but when the opportunity arose, we jumped.

"We are more than just husband and wife, we are each other's training partners and biggest supporters. We are #shamanda. "While we each had our own struggles through training and the big day seeing our 10-month old son, Greyson, is a memory will we always cherish. We hope Greyson loves running as much as we do, and we can't wait for him to join our amazing running club, The Merrimack Valley Striders."

Kalliman Gomes, Methuen"Running my fifth Boston Marathon and having a full field of runner and a regular race since 2019 was very special, the MVS bus ride with all my MVS friends, having my family waiting for me at the finish line and crowds carrying you on when things got tough made my day.

"I've missed all of that and I'm glad it's back. I couldn't be happier with the whole experience and can't wait to do it again next year."

William "Rob" Cargill, Haverhill"In April of 2017 I quit smoking and started a couch-to-5k (Feaster Five) running program. At that time, running a marathon, let alone qualifying for Boston was a pipe dream.

"It took five years of hard work and the invaluable assistance of my triathlon coach, Bill Hafferty and the MVS track coach, Sharon Johnson to help me qualify for Boston with a 3:04 at Baystate Marathon in Lowell last fall. I also met my fiancé, Jocelyn while running the virtual Feaster Five in 2020.

"We were extremely lucky to run Boston together the entire way on the 18th, finishing with the same time down to a hundredth of a second."

Dianne Jannetti, Andover"Still recovering from an injury, my plan was to just have fun and the crowds did not disappoint, with 26.2 miles of cheers, beers, friends, music, bananas, pretzels, oranges, plus a chance to slap a Will Smith poster.

"Then came Hereford Street where I received hugs from my family and a 65th birthday cupcake from friends. How lucky am I that that I got to run Boston on a perfect day.

Maura Szendey, Andover"I had never planned on running a marathon but after running a few half-marathons and joining MVS, and volunteering for the Boston Marathon, I decided to give the distance a try.

"And after running my first, I wanted to go for Boston. I was very fortunate to receive an invitational bib through MVS in 2018. While the weather was less than optimal, I knew I wanted to try it again.

"Fortunately I was able to qualify for 2020 in another marathon but we know what happened there. I ran the virtual and also ran a live marathon that qualified me for 2021 and 2022.

"Monday's race was the best experience yet ... perfect weather, full field, great crowd support, MVS friends volunteering at the start and watching/cheering along the way.

"I ended up with a 20 minute improvement over 2021 and a qualifier for 2023. I can't wait to come back next year."

Josh Giles, North Andover"It was such a wonderful experience to run my first Boston Marathon. It was perfect weather and the crowd carried me all the way from start to finish. The support from the Merrimack Valley Striders from training through the finish line was unbelievable.

"I was supposed to run in 2020 but this experience was worth the wait."