Beat The T Is Back In Brookline, Runners To Race The Green Line

BROOKLINE, MA — If you've spent any time on the Green Line there have got to be moments where you look out the window and see the runners pass the trolley and wonder if you could beat the T if you ran. Well, here's your chance to see. The folks at the Brookline Marathon Sports are teaming up with Brooks Running to pit runner against the C line.

On the Saturday before Marathon Monday, the folks at the shoe store are inviting runners to race the T the 3 miles to Hynes Convention Center, where the Boston Marathon expo is happening.

As of Wednesday some 65 people had indicted they planned to lace up for the fun run, and nearly 350 indicated they were thinking about it.

If this sounds familiar, this is the second year Marathon Sports has raced the T ahead of the marathon. And they may have gotten the idea from Jenna Deutsch, a local runner and fitness enthusiast, who in early 2017, put together what may have been the first official race against the T after seeing a group of kids jokingly racing the B line.

She was raising money to run Boston for Back on My Feet Boston, a nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness. Deutsch thought putting together an official race against the much maligned B line would be fun way to raise money for the nonprofit. More than 100 people showed up and raced the B line 4 miles down Commonwealth Ave, raising $3,086. And they found out, although it proved harder than it looked, beating the T is possible. That year, at least six runners beat the train.

The following year, Marathon Sports put together a fun run the weekend of the Boston Marathon. In 2018 about 100 people showed up and raced from Copley to Brookline. This year they're inviting runners of all paces to come meet at the Brookline store on Beacon Street in Washington Square. From there, they'll have a group of folks get on the T and take it down to the marathon expo near Copley as the runners race along side.

Who will win? The folks who take the C line or the runners? That's the big question.

"We'll watch our friends get on the train, and then set off on an approximately 3 mile run down Beacon Street to the John Hancock Sports & Fitness Expo to see if we can beat our counterparts traveling on the Green Line," reads the invitation to the fun runon Evite.

No matter who wins, the store, which has teamed up with Brooks running shoes, promises to celebrate participants at the Brooks booth in the expo, where it says special prizes are available.

Runners of all ability levels are welcome. Brooks and Marathon Sports said they will transport your bags from Brookline to the expo for you. This is a fun run with no chips or bibs timing, so bring your watch.

On schedule, the green line takes 24 minutes from Washington square to Copley. The distance on foot is about a 5k. If you run a quick 7:30 mile, there's a good chance you could beat the C line.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).