What do you do after a doctor tells you that you shouldn't run marathons? Clarence DeMar's doctor told him to not run anymore marathons, so he went out & won the Boston Marathon 7 times....
1911- 2:21:39
1922- 2:18:10
1923- 2:23:37
1924- 2:29:40
1927- 2:40:22
1928- 2:37:07
1930- 2:34:48
He ran Boston for a total of 33 times altogether....after doctor's told him his heart was too weak to run.
This race is to honor this extraordinary accomplishment and person.
-note; we are not suggesting you ignore your doctor's orders. we are simply telling DeMar's story.
from a number of sources; including Wikipedia
Clarence Harrison DeMar (June 7, 1888 – June 11, 1958) was a U.S. marathoner, winner of seven Boston Marathons, and Bronze medalist at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was known by the nickname "Mr. DeMarathon."
DeMar was born in Madeira, Ohio. The 1910 Boston marathon was DeMar's first; he finished 2nd. Later in 1910 he was advised by a doctor that he had a heart murmur and should stop running within a year or two. The next year at the Boston Marathon the doctors on the starting line advised him of his heart murmur and told him that he should drop out if he was fatigued, and that he should not run any more races. Nevertheless, he won in 2:21:39, a course record.
Among marathoners, DeMar is remembered as one of the all-time greats. No other marathoner has won seven times at Boston. His seventh victory in Boston came in 1930, when he became the oldest winner of the event at the age of 41. He still holds that record as well.
DeMar came to the Keene area as an instructor of Industrial Education at Keene State College (then called Keene Normal School). He also worked with the track and cross country teams at the college, training his teams on an old cinder track located near the marathon course's finish line. Just a few hundred yards from the finish line is the site of Demar's former residence on Appian way. Later he moved his family to a farm near the Keene Airport on Route 32. The marathon passes that site near the 22 mile mark.
DeMar was always running. He ran back and forth to work, completed marathons at the Brockton Fair, and took part in 44-mile runs from Providence to Boston on St.Patrick’s Day.
And besides running, DeMar had many other talents. He was a scoutmaster, reverend, family farmer, typesetter, and scholar.As a competitor, DeMar was legendary.
In 1983, DeMar's widow, Margaret DeMar Arnold told a story which takes the legend a little further. Just a few days before he died of cancer in 1958, Mrs. Arnold recalled, "Clarence crawled into the backyard and planted a garden. He simply refused to give up."
