Anthony Yu, a Tufts senior studying international relations and economics, grew up watching his mother, Elaine Yu, run marathons around the world. This year, they’ll run the Boston Marathon together — his first and her 22nd.
Elaine fell in love with running shortly after moving to New York City. A 5K for breast cancer research in Central Park was her first big race.
“I was probably 24 and I walked about half of the race, but I loved it,” she said.
As running transformed into a hobby, Elaine entertained the idea of running a marathon.
“As it was approaching my 25th birthday, I decided that I wanted to do something kind of big to commemorate the milestone,” she said.
So, along with some friends, she signed up for the New York City Marathon.
“I really enjoyed, obviously, the entire experience — the training, really getting to spend time with friends, doing something active, getting to know my new city,” Elaine said.
Having enjoyed the training, fundraising and magic of running in the biggest marathon in the world — running, more specifically marathon running, quickly became a big part of her life.
“Since that point, it’s probably the longest relationship I’ve ever had, if you can have a relationship with something that’s not a person,” she said.
Elaine became a frequent marathoner — and her son remembers going to support her at races, most often in New York City.
“At least once a year we would go watch my mom go run a marathon,” Anthony said. He also noted how inspiring it was to observe his mom’s grit with regard to running.
“She loves this activity so much, and the consistency and dedication that she showed to it … was super inspiring,” he said.
Elaine took a hiatus from marathon running when her family life became too busy to allow adequate time for training.
“For a long time, I stopped racing, because when my kids were in middle school and high school it just became too busy, so I didn’t race for 10 years in my forties. I really just kind of picked it up a couple years ago when I turned 50,” she said
Not only has Elaine picked up marathon running again after a decade-long break, she has run some of the best times of her life in recent years.
“Now that my kids are all grown … I have a lot more time, and not only the time, but I also have the mental capacity to really focus and enjoy. And so I find that right now I’m running the best that I’ve ever run,” she said.
Elaine set a personal record in October with a time of 3:46 at the Chicago Marathon. Not only that, she also became a Six Star Finisher after her hiatus, meaning she has run six of the world’s biggest marathons: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
“I started out in London. … I wasn’t really sure if I was going to like running anymore or racing marathons anymore, but I remember that London race and just feeling giddy the whole time,” she said. “I thought, ‘I still love this.’ And I was like, I’m gonna just click off all of these World Marathon majors and get my Six Star medal. And so I did it one by one, and I did all of them within two years.”
Her son, by contrast, was not a runner; while both of his siblings ran cross country, Anthony never made running a habit. However, after learning about the Tufts Marathon Team, he picked up the sport, motivated by the opportunity to run alongside his mom.
“When I found out we had the program where you could get a spot [in the Boston Marathon], I was like, ‘I have to at least try and run it with my mom,’” he said. “I went abroad my junior spring and didn’t run too consistently … but then over this summer, I started running pretty consistently, and have continued that since then.”
The team meets for two runs a week — one on Wednesday at 7 a.m. and another on Sunday at 8 a.m. Anthony runs on his own in addition to team practices and is currently averaging about 40 miles per week in advance of race day.
“This is my first ever marathon. I did two half marathons in the fall: I did one in Manchester-by-the-Sea in September, and then I did the Cambridge half in November,” he said.
While Anthony has been training, he’s cognizant of the fact that this is his first marathon and his mom’s 22nd — in fact, Elaine just ran the Tokyo Marathon in February. Still, they both have charity numbers and will start and finish the marathon together.
“Hopefully I won’t slow her down too much,” Anthony said.
Chris Lotsbom, director of race communications and media for the Boston Athletic Association shared some context about race day.
“The Boston Marathon is an event that unites on Patriots’ Day every April, and whether you are running, spectating, or volunteering, we look forward to the camaraderie and energy of race day. More than 30,000 athletes from 129 countries and all 50 U.S. states are expected to compete, bringing the magic of Marathon Monday to life over 26.2 miles,” Lotsbom wrote in a statement to the Daily.
Anthony’s twin sister goes to Wellesley College; both he and his mom are excited to pass her on their route.
“I have a twin sister, and so she’s gonna be right at the halfway point in the Wellesley Scream Tunnel. She said she’s gonna make us some posters or something, so I’m super excited,” he said.
When asked which marathon has been her favorite, Elaine shared that she expects it will be the upcoming Boston Marathon.
“I never imagined that I would get to do a race with one of my children,” she said. “Even the fact that one of my children wants to do it with me is such a gift.”
She elaborated, sharing that it’s particularly special to mark the occasion of her oldest children entering adulthood with a marathon.
“It’s sort of just this celebration of them entering adulthood because they’re both about to graduate and move to New York City and start working, and I feel like this is an opportunity for me to create this memory with them, where it’s just going to be really special,” she said. “It’s just such a gift that we’ll get to have this experience.”
