13 minute read
IN THE LONG RUN
from 2024 RCSI Alumni Magazine
by RCSI
RCSI has a 25-year long association with the annual Boston Marathon, thanks to the commitment of one of our distinguished alumni, Dr John V. Coyle
First held in 1897, the Boston Marathon is the oldest marathon and one of the best-known running events in the world, attracting both professional and amateur athletes. The marathon always takes place on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday in April, and attracts 30,000 participants.
Although it’s notoriously difficult for even elite runners to secure a spot, thanks to the generosity of John V. Coyle MD (Medicine, Class of 1962), each year since 1999 a number of students from the university have secured waivers to participate.
Dr Coyle – or Vinny as he is better known – has spent his career in Boston, initially practising internal medicine and later working in the insurance industry, while maintaining close ties with the university. In 2002 he was honoured with the Distinguished Graduate Award. The marathon is organised by a non-profit group, the Boston Athletic Association, and it is in his capacity as member of the Board of Governors and former President from 2002-2004, that Dr Coyle has been able to secure the coveted waivers.
Dr Coyle first offered six waivers to Barry O’Brien, then Director of Estate and Support Services at RCSI, back in 1999. “Barry came out with the students that first year and each one of them finished and we had no dropouts, so we decided to make it an annual event,” remembers Dr Coyle.
As part of their trip, ten RCSI students not only get to run in the race but also – thanks to Dr Coyle’s connections – to experience the best Boston has to offer. In the past, groups have met the Mayor of Boston, been invited to receptions at the Copley Square Hotel, had their names announced over the tannoy as they watched the Red Sox play in Fenway Park, met former marathon legends such as Dick and Rick Hoyt as well as meeting race icons including Meb Keflezighi, Bobbi Gibb, Kathrine Switzer and Jack Fultz.
“The marathon is,” says Dr Coyle, “one of the highlights of my year and I look forward to meeting each new group of RCSI runners. And I am so proud of them – they represent RCSI so well and are great ambassadors for the university.”
Dr Brian Dougherty (Medicine, Class of 2009) a family physician and Flight Surgeon, US Navy, who ran in 2006, recalls the opportunity to represent the school at a world-class sporting event as the highlight of his time at RCSI.
“The thing I remember most is Dr Coyle’s warm hospitality,” says Dr Dougherty, “he is such a gracious host and made the RCSI students not only feel welcomed but as if they were the main event.”
Corriena Brien, Head of Student Services at RCSI, and Emily O’Brien, Operations Manager, Student Services, have accompanied the student group to Boston for many years. Having both run the marathon themselves, Corriena in 2011 and Emily in 2014, they are well placed to support the students. They both say that participating in the race was one of the best experiences of their lives.
“It is,” says Corriena, “one of the fastest marathons in the world and pretty gruelling, so the selection process for the RCSI students who want to participate is arduous. We find there is a real correlation between healthcare studies and running, as both require a huge amount of self discipline and determination over a long distance. Each year, the demand for places becomes more and more competitive. Students need to have previous marathon experience, and those that get through are all extremely good and fast runners.” The RCSI contingent always travels to Boston on the Friday before the race on the Monday in order to give the runners time to acclimatise.
Dr Hannah Makrides (Medicine, Class of 2008) an emergency staff specialist at the Royal Hobart Hospital in Tasmania, ran in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and remembers training runs in Phoenix Park with “Butlers coffee, chocolate and an Avoca scone” afterwards, as the reward.
While RCSI covers the costs of flights and accommodation for the students, they in turn raise funds for charity. Over the past 25 years, RCSI runners have raised money for charities including Breast Cancer Ireland and Floating Doctors, a non-profit medical relief team established by RCSI alumni Dr Ben La Brot (Medicine, Class of 2006) and Dr Ryan McCormick (Medicine, Class of 2014).
“There’s a great atmosphere on the flight,” explains Emily, “as almost everyone on it is a runner. On Saturday morning, we get them registered, and collect their bib numbers and runners’ packs. That evening there is a charity function. As it’s term time, the students study on Sunday; some of them even have exams to do online while they are in Boston. is year one of them had to get up at 4am the morning a er the race to sit one! Final year students will have exams to sit as soon as they get back to Dublin, so Tuesday is another study day, and we travel home on Wednesday.”
On the day of the race, the RCSI group leaves the hotel early and heads to Boston Common.
“It’s one of the most spectacular sights you’ll ever see,” says Emily, “with hundreds of yellow school buses waiting to take the runners to the starting line in Hopkinton, about an hour away.” The vagaries of the weather in Boston, where it can go from winter to spring overnight, always have a major impact on the experience of those participating.
“Our runners have experienced everything from frost and ice to torrential rain to sun splitting the stones and everything in between,” says Corriena.
In Hopkinton, the runners wait in corrals until it’s their time to start. The route takes them through the suburbs to the finish line on Boylston Street in the city. Once the runners have boarded their buses, Emily and Corriena meet Dr Coyle at the Boston Athletic Association breakfast, and start to track the RCSI runners as they set off. They are always there waiting for them at the finish line, cheering them on with a huge tricolour.
Dr Shamini Kirupananthan (Medicine, Class of 2006) a staff obstetrician and gynaecologist in Springfield, Massachusetts ran in 2005. What she remembers most is the camaraderie with her fellow runners, and being proud to represent RCSI. “It was my first time in Boston and the energy and buzz about the place was electric,” she says. “The race itself was quite surreal; it was challenging and I wasn’t sure I’d finish. Afterwards I celebrated with the other runners, singing songs, being very present in the moment.”
This year, temperatures of 16-19°C, which caused even the elite athletes to slow down, made it a tough race for all the runners, as there is no shade on the route. “But they all finished and we are so proud of them and all they achieve, studying demanding programmes and running a tough race,” says Emily. “Dr Coyle is so proud of them in their smart RCSI uniforms; everyone in Boston knows them as Vinny’s doctors.”
Dr Hannah Makrides recalls being swept along by the electric atmosphere and the support of the crowd, the relief, excitement and joy of crossing the finish line, and hobbling back to the hotel in the freezing rain in 2008, being passed by a pedestrian with a Zimmer frame.
“Some of our runners achieve pretty fast times,” says Corriena. “We had one student finish in two hours 44 minutes, which is not that much slower than the elite runners who might finish in two hours 20 or 30 minutes. Others take a little longer.”
Every year, the first RCSI student across the finishing line is awarded a trophy – this year it went to Adam O’Neill, a third-year pharmacy student, who completed the race in three hours 37 minutes. A board in 123 St Stephen’s Green’ records the names of the students who have run since 1999.
Dr Coyle and all the students who have participated over the years share many memories, from students achieving a personal best, to the father-and-daughter Team Maguire, Paul (Medicine, Class of 1983) and Sinéad (Medicine, Class of 2010) who ran together in 2014, to the challenges presented by the explosion of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland in 2010, which caused havoc in the skies.
“Though the RCSI runners made it out on the last flight to depart Dublin airport on the Friday prior to the race, their return flight was cancelled,” recalls Corriena. “As the group included three final year medical students who were due to sit an exam at the end of the week, the academic team in Dublin came to the rescue and liaised with their counterparts in Harvard Medical School who agreed to host the exam should we fail to make it back to Dublin on time. Much to the disappointment of the students in question they did in fact make it back.”
One year that stands out is 2013, for the very worst of reasons. Bombs planted at the finish line and on Boylston Street claimed three lives and injured hundreds of spectators, with more innocent lives lost in the hunt for the perpetrators.
“What started out as a beautiful Boston Marathon day turned to chaos and carnage,” remembers Corriena. “ The lives of those lost will forever be remembered, along with those who suffered life-altering injuries. We were very fortunate that none of RCSI’s runners were in the area when the bombs went off.”
Dr Coyle himself was in the grandstand with his wife, children and grandchildren when the first bomb exploded. His daughter, Deirdre Coyle, remembers her father – at 80 years old – leaping over the barriers and starting to triage people.
“There was one woman in a serious condition who my father treated and I believe he saved her life. Needless to say, they continue to be in touch.”
Over a decade later, Boston continues to demonstrate the resilience that saw the marathon run the year after the bombing, with President Barack Obama present.
“One of the most special things about the Boston Marathon is the community spirit,” says Emily. “All the way along the route there are people two and three deep cheering on the runners, there’s an amazing atmosphere. And since the bombing, the level of community engagement has grown even stronger.”
Alumni Memories of the Boston Marathon
■ DR JOHN NORIAN Medicine, Class of 2002, Fertility Specialist, Reproductive Endocrinologist, Pasadena, California. Ran in 2001: “I wish I had learned more Irish pub songs beforehand so that I could have sung along with the alumni at the social events.”
■ MR JAMES HEPBURN Medicine, Class of 2006, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Cork. Ran in 2003: “I was nervous before the start and delighted and exhausted at the finish.”
■ DR JORGEN ANDVIG Medicine, Class of 2008, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Molde Hospital, Norway. Ran in 2005: “I remember the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop just down the block from our hotel had free ice cream all day the next day. The weather was lovely and we just hung out and ate all we could.”
■ DR PAUL DHILLON Medicine, Class of 2009, Brigade Surgeon, 39 CBG, Canadian Armed Forces, Sechelt, British Columbia. Ran in 2006 and 2009: “I remember having a beer with teammates, in the bathtub filled with ice, to recover after the race. It was an amazing experience and I’ve since gone on to complete almost 40 marathons ”
■ DR RORY FARNAN Medicine, Class of 2010, Consultant Cardiologist, Essentia Health, Fargo, North Dakota. Ran in 2008, 2009 and 2010: “I remember running the Dublin Marathon in preparation and being nervous ahead of my first trip to Boston that I might not finish. My quads were so sore at the finish line.”
■ MS SINÉAD O’MALLEY Pharmacy, Class of 2010, Co Meath. Ran in 2009: “It was such craic! No one took themselves or the running too seriously (even though there were some cracking times posted!). As soon as we landed in Boston, it was clear we were about to be part of something really special and we were treated like VIPs.”
■ DR RICHARD FARNAN Pharmacy, Class of 2014, Cardiology SHO, Galway. Ran in 2012: “I was the only pharmacy student among a team of medical students. We all gelled very well as a group. I forged long term friendships from that trip. I remember great camaraderie and celebrations afterwards with Dr John V. Coyle.”
■ DR RUTH CAREY Medicine, Class of 2018, Paediatric Specialist Registrar, CHI, Temple Street, Dublin. Ran in 2016: “Meeting Dr Coyle at the Boston Athletic Association event was such an honour – he has been so generous to RCSI students for many years. The last mile or so flies, with all the cheering from the crowds, and people shouting your name. Crossing the line itself is almost a blur after that hype.”
■ DR SAMUEL ADAMS Medicine, Class of 2022, SHO, Wales. Ran in 2022: “Boston was the best experience of medical school for me. The last mile, when I heard the bells ringing and the crowd roaring, I felt euphoric. My legs were very tired and felt like they could stop working. The pride of wearing our RCSI blazers and going out for a celebratory dinner with my teammates will stay with me forever.”
■ DR EIMEAR BOURKE Medicine, Class of 2023, Intern doctor, Dublin. Ran in 2022: “I felt very privileged and lucky to be there.”■
