Teresa Firth’s 33-marathon history bears witness to the running community’s traditional message to its newcomers: one step at a time and never say never.
Publicly congratulated on Tuesday afternoon by Marion Town Administrator Geoff Gorman for completing her 16th Boston Marathon just three weeks ago, Firth has a day job as a secretary for the town’s Department of Public Works. The workday, however, is often the prelude to a second wave of energy when she takes part in a track workout at Fairhaven’s Cushman Park. There, she trains with a group of runners working on different aspects as directed by a coach.
“Every week is a different thing, sometimes it’s speed,” she said.
The Fairhaven resident was no distance-running prodigy, the catalyst for this high-achieving activity arriving in her adult life.
“No, not at all. I started running when my daughter was born, like 36 years ago,” said Firth, 59. “I just started running like the 5K’s and 10K’s.”
Raised in New Bedford, Firth took up running and joined the Greater New Bedford Track Club, eventually completing her first marathon in 2001 in Hartford, Connecticut. The event was more than a milestone in that her performance qualified her to run Boston.
“I’ve been qualifying every year,” she said.
Firth ran the 2023 BAA Marathon in honor of her father, whom she lost a year and a half ago. “I put his name on my arm and think about him along the way,” she said. Her time on April 17 was three hours and 52 minutes.
“Completing a marathon is no easy feat, and her dedication and perseverance are inspiring,” stated Gorman in a press release.
The Boston course is famous for Heartbreak Hill, the incline just inside Brookline that runners often struggle to scale, but Firth has discovered many other difficult hills on the 26.2-mile course.
“It’s where it comes in the race,” she said, alluding to Miles 17-21. “But they say the last 10K is the hardest … you’re tired …” It’s not only the last 6 miles, however. “Especially in the beginning, too, there are rolling hills and a couple (of hills) right in front of Fenway (Park.)”
Firth’s youngest daughter has caught the bug, having run three marathons.
“We’re doing one in New York, that’ll be her fourth,” said Firth.
Scheduled for Sunday, October 1, the Guthrie Wineglass Marathon, New York state’s second largest, is a BAA qualifier situated in the Southern Finger Lakes region and headquartered in Corning, New York.
By Mick Colageo