Boston Marathon Runner Profile: Paul Joseph

Runner Name: Paul Joseph

Age: 44

Profession: Management consultant, teacher and community volunteer (former selectman).

Marathon Experience: This Boston Marathon will be my eighth consecutive Boston and 16th marathon. I’ve run the Austin, Marine Corps, Victoria BC, Colorado, Bay State and Portland ME races, too. I ran the New York Marathon the year the Yankees were in the World Series – it was fun cruising through the Bronx wearing my Red Sox cap!

Reason for Running: I refer to myself as a “recreational marathoner” and I run for overall health and to keep my weight under control after losing about 40 pounds in the first couple years of running. My original intent was to register for a race in the spring and one in the fall to keep me honest about getting out and exercising the whole year round. Running is a great escape and stress reliever; but, too often, I find that work/life balance out of whack and I tend to train erratically. There is no escaping the need to do the long runs ahead of a marathon, so the urgency of preparing for a race has a way of forcing me out the door, especially for the double digit mileage training runs. I tell people that I want to be one of those runners that spectators see huffing and puffing along and say “well if THAT guy can do a marathon, than so can I!

Training Tip: Listen to your body. Despite all the running, I have remained, generally, in good shape. A few bouts of tendonitis, muscle strains, etc., but when I feel a tweak in my knees, I stop. When I feel like my form is off or my head is not in the game, I walk for a bit. I realized from the beginning that I’m not contending for prize money, so I define a “win” as walking away from each race (and training run) healthy and looking forward to the next one.

Charity: I’m running on behalf of the Natick Service Council and have dedicated my fundraising to ending homelessness and hunger community groups like NSC. We have until May 31 to raise the minimum required by BAA, so I hope folks realize that even when it comes to fundraising, it’s a marathon, not a sprint! Please consider supporting that effort by visiting my website at: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/paul-joseph/bostonmarathon13

Bib Number: 22424