'We Did It Beans,' And More Stories From Marathon Monday: The HUB

The HUB is a daily newsletter designed for what you want — to be caught up on the most interesting, important news in 5 minutes or less. It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that, but if there's something you want more or less of, email me at alex.newman@patch.com.

Today is Tuesday, October 12. Let's get started.

Boston didn't forget how to put on a marathon. The leaves may have been more colorful, the weather a little warmer, but after two-and-a-half years, the Boston Marathon returned on Monday.

These are a few of the stories, from the triumphant to bittersweet, from Marathon Monday.

"We Did It Beans": Last year, CNN journalist Andrew Kaczynski lost his 9-month-old daughter to pediatric brain cancer. He has since embarked on a campaign to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer, running the Boston Marathon as part of his mission. Kaczynski raised $200,000 for the Infant Brain Tumor Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and dedicated each mile to a child who is battling or has battled cancer, running the final mile for his daughter, known as Beans. (Boston Globe)

"I Knew That I Could Make It": Last year, Chris Nikic became the first athlete with Down syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon, swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles and running 26.2 miles. He completed the Boston Marathon for the first time Monday, finishing with a time of 6:01:22. (WBZ)

A Costly Wrong Turn: Marcel Hug, the winner of the men's wheelchair race, fell short of breaking his own course record after taking a wrong turn in the race's final mile. He still won with a time of 1:08:11, but he missed out on the $50,000 prize that would have accompanied the record victory. (Patch)

A Long Time Coming: The BAA announced in 2019 that the Marathon would offer a competitive Para Athletics Division for the first time, opening the door for athletes like Chaz Davis. But the pandemic delayed his shot at history, canceling the Marathon and closing the gym where he ran on the treadmill. Then, as his training started to pick back up, he suffered an ankle injury. (GBH)

A Boston The Marathon Leaves Out: In taking runners through wealthier suburbs like Wellesley, Newton and Hopkinton, the Boston Marathon leaves out neighborhoods like Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. Dorchester-based running club PIONEERS Run Crew organized the 26.TRUE marathon to bring participants through parts of the city the Marathon ignores. (GBH)

Boston Marathon In The Spotlight: The Boston Marathon has a unique way of letting people reclaim what was once thought lost. For renowned stage and film actor Brian d'Arcy James, that's true on multiple levels. (Patch)

Top stories

The Red Sox are headed to the ALCS after back-to-back thrillers. On the heels of walk-off win in the 13th inning Sunday, the Sox looked like they were about to let Monday night's game get away from them. But a pair of singles and a sac fly in the bottom of the ninth sent the Rays packing. (Boston Herald)

The decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day in Boston has come under fire from the two Democrats running for state senate in a district representing one of the largest Italian American populations in the state. While they agree the community should have had more input, neither candidate seems keen on delving further into the conflict. (GBH)

More than 700 people who need acute psychiatric care are stuck waiting around in emergency rooms because the treatment programs they need are full. Holding such patients limits space for other emergencies, increasing wait times in ERs and resulting in more people leaving without being seen. (WBUR)

Local voices

"Since its passage nearly four decades ago, the bottle bill has been a remarkable and well-recognized success in Massachusetts — but now it needs updating." - Boston Globe Editorial Staff

"Hell hath no fury like a Realtor scorned." – Boston Herald Editorial Staff

If you have a minute

From Colman M. Herman, Commonwealth Magazine:

"It's hard to tell whether the type of sexual behavior that resulted in a recent $650,000 legal settlement at a Boston public school is an aberration or just the tip of the iceberg because the school system releases so little data on sexual misconduct.

The annual reports of the Boston Public Schools' Office of Equity – the office charged with investigating complaints of sexual misconduct – contain no mention of any investigations or any analysis of reports received by the department.

In response to a series of public records and information requests, however, the office did release a breakdown of 894 boundary violations investigated by officials at the unit or individual schools from 2018 through 2020.

Boston Public Schools identifies a wide variety of boundary violations, including unwanted physical contact, inappropriate comments such as sexual jokes and references, inappropriate “sexting,” and unacceptable sexual gesturing."

Snapshots of the day

Former Norwood High School hockey player Matt Brown, who was paralyzed by a hit 11 years ago, completed the marathon with his running partner Lucas Carr. Carr, a Boston firefighter, has run the Marathon with Brown 10 times.

Shalane Flanagan finished her fourth of six Abbott World Marathon Majors in seven weeks, running the Chicago and Boston Marathons in a single weekend.

Benson Kipruto and Diana Kipyogei of Kenya react after winning the men's and women's divisions of the 125th Boston Marathon. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Marcel Hug and Manuela Schar of Switzerland pose with the Champion's Trophy after winning the men's and women's wheelchair races during the 125th Boston Marathon. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

What I'm reading today: Las Vegas Raiders coach Jon Gruden resigned Monday after emails surfaced from his time as a color analyst for ESPN. In messages to former Washington Football Team President Bruce Allen, Gruden used a homophobic slur to refer to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and denigrated female referees and the drafting of an openly gay player. (New York Times)

Weather: The National Weather Service says patchy fog before 11am. Otherwise, cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 71. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Partly cloudy at night, with a low around 54. Calm wind.

– Alex Newman

About me: Alex is a Jersey transplant covering Arlington, Malden, Medford, Reading and Somerville for Patch. A graduate of Northeastern University, Alex has lived in the Boston area since college (though he still hasn't been able to bring himself to root for the Sox). He is an avid football and baseball fan, amateur woodworker and film geek. Alex lives in Chelsea with his fiancée, their dog and a revolving door of foster puppies.