2021 #RunningForResearch: Rich Evonitz

Posted:Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Hello old and new friends and colleagues! My name is Rich Evonitz, and I am in training to run the Boston Marathon on behalf of the Massage Therapy Foundation. This will be my seventh marathon. I’m so grateful to my friends at MTF for helping me achieve my dream of running Boston. I hope to help them this summer by raising the funds they need to support their continuing mission of scientific research into how massage therapy can help with an individual’s overall health.

When I was a kid in elementary school, I struggled with the Presidential Fitness test and the 600-yard run. I just couldn’t do it very fast, and it frustrated my PE teachers. One of them, Mr. Carter, said, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to do it. I’ll just mark you down for 6 minutes.” It was embarrassing. So, I dove into the library and became a bookworm and not an athlete. As an adult, I really wanted to prove to myself that I could compete and be athletic at something, so I found marathon running. I’m not fast, but I have finished every marathon I’ve started–all six of them!

Running has never come easy to me. In fact, I didn’t really get into it until I turned 40. But after I completed my fourth half marathon, a friend of mine asked, “How do you feel?” and I said, “Pretty good.” His response was, “Then you’re ready for a marathon, and I have got the perfect one for you to start.” He told me about the Phoenix Marathon, and I signed up for it shortly thereafter. Training and competing in the Phoenix marathon was life-changing. The sense of accomplishment was amazing. I then completed five more marathons, most recently the New York marathon in 2019.

Now, I’m honored to be training to run Boston in October 2021. Please consider supporting my journey for a charitable cause. Please give generously by clicking below.

[su_button url=”https://www.givengain.com/activist/385857/” target=”blank” background=”#101e51″ color=”#f7f43c” size=”10″ center=”yes”]Support MTF’s 2021 #RunningForResearch Team[/su_button]