Concord’s Beyer completes 100th marathon in Boston
By Stephen Tobey/ Staff Writer
Thursday, April 20, 2006 - Updated: Apr 21, 2006 07:08 PM EST

For some people, one marathon is enough for a lifetime.

    For Joe Beyer, it’s a typical weekend’s recreation.

    Monday afternoon, the 43-year-old lifelong Concord resident completed the Boston Marathon in 3 hours, 45 minutes and 7 seconds, which he said is a typical performance for him.

    It was the eighth time he completed Boston and it was also the 100th marathon he has run in his lifetime. He ran his first marathon in 1989, but has run most of them since 1998, averaging 12.4 a year. Last year he ran 17.

 

    "I really wanted to make this year’s Boston the 100th," said Beyer, who ran seven marathons in October. "By the end of last October, I felt very strong physically, but mentally I wanted a day off."

    Racing as often as he does has its advantages, however.

    "It’s difficult, " said Beyer. "But each one is training for the next one."

    Beyer has run marathons in California and Reno, Nev., but most of them have been within driving distance.

    "I have two young children," said Beyer, who has two sons, Ben. 9, and Cy, 7. "I always need to get back. Sometimes in a race, I’m looking at my watch and I know I have to get back to them. I always have somewhere to go.

    "The older one understands it a little more. He knows that I work hard at it. The younger one is getting there."

    Beyer started running when he began dating his wife, Julie, who graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School with him in 1980.

    ""We grew up together," said Beyer, who "She was running before I was. Then she stopped and I kept going. I was always playing sports when I was younger. I had four brothers and we were always playing games around the house."

    With the weekend marathons serving as his long runs, Beyer has found a way to fit his training into his commute. He works for John Hancock in Boston as a software engineer. In the morning, he drives to the Alwife MBTA station in Cambridge and runs the remaining 6 miles to work.

    "In the winter, the training is easier," he said. "I’ve learned to multi-task. During the fall and spring, we’re more worried about getting to the kids’ soccer games."

While Beyer has enjoyed the excitement of running with 20,000 other people in the Boston Marathon, he’s also enjoyed smaller, more low-key races.

    "Boston could be my favorite, but there are also one or two that are done in the woods," he said. "They’re the exact opposite of Boston, just spending an afternoon in the woods. It’s more difficult going through the woods."

    One of the off-road marathons he has run is the Nipmuc Trail Marathon in Connecticut.

    In 1999, Beyer ran the New York City Marathon.

    "It was nice," he said. "If I lived in New York instead of Boston, it would probably be my favorite."

    Now that he’s completed 100 marathons, Beyer is wasting no time getting started on another 100. In three weeks, he will run another marathon in Holyoke.

    "I’m tapering now," said Beyer. "I’ll be ready for another one by then."

    Through the years, Beyer has also collected his share of t-shirts.

    "I have at least 100," he said. "I’ve given a lot of them away."

    One that he’ll probably keep is the one he wore on Monday.

    "I had ’2,620 Club’ on the back of my shirt," he said.