I had the privilege of getting to know these two incredible men during my Boston Marathon trip. They are both known as “streakers” in the Boston Marathon community. Streakers are those who have run a consecutive number of Bostons. The man on the left, Douglas White, has 43 (!) and William Kauffman has 31. That is 74 marathons between two men. Here is a little bit of background of each men.
William Kauffman has a personal best at Boston with a 2:37, and a worst of 4:21 in 2016. This was impressive because I know he was dealing with foot issues and mortals would have dropped out. His most memorable moment was in 1995 when he placed 25th in his age group. Very impressive, consistent, and determined, year after year.
Douglas White is tied for fourth as an all time Boston Streaker. His Boston best was 2:31, and his worst was 6:05. By the way, in 2016, at age 73, he ran a 5:02. I had lunch with him and his wife, and she shared an amusing story. When his daughter got married, she knew she couldn’t pick Boston weekend, or else her dad wouldn’t show up! Incidentally, he has a streak in another marathon, the Caesar Rodney Marathon in Delaware, having done 44 in a row.
It is amazing to me that these men were able to not only qualify and make it to the start line, but they finished each time. Weather, injuries, bombings, work, family, finances, NOTHING kept these guys from finishing. Such respect.
Not only are they incredible runners, but they are incredible men. I had such a blast speaking to them. They both love running and the running community. I will definitely be rooting for them as much as I root for the elites in the coming years.