Pages

Amby Burfoot

Amby Burfoot was born the same day as President Bill Clinton,

August 19, 1946. They share some characteristics, but not the icky one.

Coached in high school by 1957 Boston Marathon winner John J. Kelley, Burfoot ran his first Boston in 1965 as a college frosh (age 18). He finished in 2:34:09.

Three years later, in 1968, Burfoot won Boston in 2:22:17 on a warm day. In December, 1968, he ran 2:14:28.8 in the Fukuoka Marathon. The American record was 2:14:28, but nobody told him he was close.

Through the decades, Burfoot continued running, with occasional marathons. He doesn't keep count, but estimates he has run about 75. 

He does count his consecutive finishes in the Thanksgiving-Day Manchester CT Road Race, just short of 5 miles. He has completed 57 in a row.

In 1968, on the worst-weather day in Boston history, Burfoot and friends ran the course on the 50th anniversary of his 1968 victory. 
He has run at least one Boston in each of these decades: 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s.

He has also run at least one Boston in the follow decades of his life: teens, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s. That's seven decades. And counting.

Pages