Boston Marathon

Leominster runner ready to Rock the GazBar

September 29, 2023 by pkzadmin

LEOMINSTER — The return of the Rock the GazBar 5K run/walk on Oct. 8 is about more than fun and community – it’s about hitting the pavement for a good cause and, for one runner in particular, a great one.

Leominster resident Missy Hendry has crossed the Boston Marathon finish line twice as a member of the Boston Children's Hospital Miles for Miracles Team. She is once again raising money for Boston Children's through the Rock the GazBar 5K on Oct. 8 in her hometown. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY) — Leominster resident Missy Hendry has crossed the Boston Marathon finish line twice as a member of the Boston Children’s Hospital Miles for Miracles Team. She is once again raising money for Boston Children’s through the Rock the GazBar 5K on Oct. 8 in her hometown. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY)

All proceeds from the event, which will be held for the first time since the pandemic, will go towards lifelong city resident Missy Hendry’s fundraising efforts for Boston Children’s Hospital as she “runs around the globe” in the hopes of completing the six Abbot World Marathon Majors.

Registration is currently open and donations can be made through the registration page.

The event will also have many activities for children and families. In addition to an obstacle course and bouncy houses, the fundraiser includes face painting, outdoor games, a DJ spinning music, food and beer trucks, a 50/50 raffle, race swag, and cash prizes for the first-place finishers and for the biggest team.

Hendry has crossed the Boston Marathon finish line twice as a member of the Boston Children’s Hospital Miles for Miracles Team, most recently in April. Three weeks after last year’s marathon finish, the St. Bernard’s High School and Fitchburg State University graduate was involved in an accident that left her leg badly injured, requiring multiple surgeries and a long and challenging recovery road.

As a result, running again has taken on a whole new meaning for Hendry, who first ran the Rock the GazBar 5K in 2019, the first of “many races to follow.” She set a goal for herself to run a 5K once a month the following year, a dream that “quickly came to an end” when the pandemic hit in March of 2020.

Instead, she pivoted to virtual races and ran the Boston Athletic Association’s virtual 5K, 10K, and half marathon on Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s Eve, respectively.

“This catapulted my marathon days,” the mom of two said. “There is still not a day that goes by that I don’t think of my accident. However, it doesn’t weigh me down as much these days. I am so grateful I am able to run, and I will continue to run as long as my body allows me to, with the goal to run until every child is well at Boston Children’s Hospital.”

The Boston Children's Miles for Miracles Team at the 2023 Boston Marathon. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY) — The Boston Children’s Miles for Miracles Team at the 2023 Boston Marathon. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY)

Her new target to run the Abbot World Marathon Majors is quite an impressive feat and next up is the New York City Marathon on Nov. 6. As she trains for that race and works towards achieving her ambitious goal, she said the Rock the GazBar race “will always have a special place in my heart”.

“It’s where it all started for me,” she said. “The running community is so wonderful and Rock the GazBar brings those people out. There is nothing like a good in-person event and this will be a great day to surround yourself with good, kindhearted people.”

The GazBar Sports Grill owner Erica Grinkis said bringing back the event that has been held every year for the past decade – except the three years of the pandemic – “is very exciting for us.”

“It is such a great way to get involved and bring people together as a community,” she said. “Although the pandemic brought on many challenges, I believe the positive it brought back to light is the importance of supporting each other and working together as a city and community.”

The businesswoman started the annual 5K in 2013 as a way to bring the community together and raise funds for a charity with the recipient varying throughout the years.

“In the most recent years we raised money for The Cancer Center at Burbank hospital and The Healing Garden in Harvard, always with a focus of helping local patients and families of and have always had a focus of breast cancer in honor of my Aunt Maryann who is a local breast cancer survivor,” she said.

Grinkis said she’s always wanted to run the race herself and is making that happen this time.

“Year after year [I] never have the time because of the work that goes in to host it, but for the first time this year I will be running the race at 5 a.m. before the setup,” she said. “I am excited to finally be able to feel like a participant!”

The Boston Children's Hospital Miles for Miracles Team, which includes Leominster resident Missy Hendry, is gearing up to run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY) — The Boston Children’s Hospital Miles for Miracles Team, which includes Leominster resident Missy Hendry, is gearing up to run the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY)

The race begins and ends at “The Gaz,” as regulars call it, a Central Street sports bar and grill with a fun neighborhood vibe and a loyal following. Grinkis said the course takes a tour of local neighborhoods along the way and that the official route will be posted on social media leading up to the event.

She said that they are happy to support Hendry’s fundraising efforts, which to date has resulted in nearly $20,000 raised through sponsorships from local businesses and members of the community.

“Missy has been a huge part of this community her whole life and her passion for helping others is a huge reason why we decided to bring this event back,” Grinkis said. “We want to encourage and support her all the way and we are excited to share and welcome the community to do the same on Oct. 8.”

Hendry said she is “truly speechless” by the number of sponsorships they have received so far and that “the community has really rallied behind me and this cause.”

“I have never been more proud to be from Leominster,” she said.

When Hendry applied to be on the Boston Children’s marathon team last year, they partnered her with a patient, an 11-year-old little girl named Olivia Griffen-Goode who has cerebral palsy. Hendry ran Boston twice for her, and all the races since being linked up, and Olivia will be there to watch her run Rock the GazBar.

Hendry said she’s looking forward to running the October race with her strong and able body – and she’s also looking forward “to a day of fun with everyone from the community” that will benefit a meaningful cause.

“The day will bring smiles to faces. The world needs more smiles and if I can provide that even for a day, I am looking forward to that!” she said. “I am looking forward to sharing my love for Boston Children’s and all the incredible work that they do, especially with Olivia. I am looking forward to sharing my story and love of running with everyone. And most of all, raising as much money as we can for the children and their families at Boston Children’s Hospital.”

‘A Leg Forever’ golf tourney keeps helping Boston Marathon bombing victims a decade later

August 28, 2023 by pkzadmin

Boston is only getting stronger.

The 10th annual “A Leg Forever” charity golf tournament at Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover was a sellout Monday as 158 contestants pitched in $250 per player to help Boston Marathon bombing victims cope.

“It’s humbling,” said Liz Norden, whose sons J.P. and Paul lost their right legs in the 2013 explosions at the finish line on Boylston Street.

But that’s not what this August tournament is about. It is about resilience. Community. This city. And the indomitable spirit found in true Bostonians.

“I’m proud today. Proud of JP, Paul and Liz for doing this every year. They don’t get enough credit,” said Marc Fucarile, who nearly died when the bombs got him, too.

Fucarile said the “kindness and generosity of others” give marathon survivors strength.

Liz Norden wanted to thank “all the sponsors” — but especially Lighthouse Electrical Contracting of Higham and La Famiglia Giorgio’s restaurant in the North End, which parked its mobile brick oven at Indian Ridge. (Update: 3rd Alarm Wood Fired Pizza Company offered up the mobile truck, according to the good people at La Famiglia Giorgio’s.)

“I feel incredibly blessed,” Liz Norden told the Herald. “This has all been because of family and friends who have given $20 bills. This is huge. This is heartwarming.”

Something this good has come out of something so bad. But you see it all over the city, from the remembrances to the Team MR8 runners who compete in the memory of little Martin Richard, who was killed in the twin bombings.

The golf tournament will go on and so too will the fund-raisers and services for those lost and first-responders and the medical community who stepped up that day.

Monday was about golf and a free pair of shoes for all participants so they can feel part of something bigger. An event with heart and soul and a prayer for those lost or suffering.

All proceedings go to helping with prosthetics and other needs for marathon bombing victims from the city that never forgets.

The terror attack killed three spectators — Martin Richard, 8, Lingzi Lu, 23, and Krystle Campbell, 29 — and injured or maimed hundreds of others. Two officers — MIT’s Sean Collier and BPD’s Dennis “DJ” Simmonds — were killed in the manhunt, with Collier shot and Simmonds succumbing to injuries a year later.

JP and Liz Norden, and Paul not shown in this photo, are the driving force behind the tournament. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

Nicole Browder and her husband marathon bombing survivor Marc Fucarile stop to talk with charity organizer Liz Norden during the tourney. (Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

Al Giorgio puts some body english on a putt during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

Tournament sponsor Herb Aikens tees off during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

J P Norden tees off during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

J P Norden gives his Mom Liz a Birthday hug during the A Leg Forever Charity Golf Tournament held at the Indian Ridge Country Club in Andover. this was the 10 year anniversary of the tournament and it happened to fall on her birthday 8/28/2023. (Staff Photo Chris Christo/Boston Herald)

Lifelong Leominster resident completes Boston Marathon a year after nearly losing her leg

May 7, 2023 by pkzadmin

LEOMINSTER — Crossing the finish line at the Boston Marathon last month felt different for Missy Hendry the second time around, a feat unto itself but even more incredible knowing the uphill obstacles she overcame to get there.

Three weeks after last year’s marathon finish, the lifelong city resident was standing outside her vehicle on the back passenger side at a car wash just down the road from her house. She was getting ready to vacuum when the unthinkable happened: A pickup truck rolled backwards, pinning her between the two vehicles. The other driver was on his phone and thought they were in park.

Missy Hendry nearly lost her left leg last May. The lifelong Leominster resident recently completed the Boston Marathon for the second year in a row, just shy of one year since the accident. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY)

“In that split second, I had a mother’s reaction and threw myself on Grayson,” Missy said of her then four-year-old son who was sitting in his car seat in the back and on day five of COVID-19.

She was trying to get ahold of her husband who was on work calls when a bystander who saw what happened stepped in to help.

“I didn’t know the extent of my injuries,” Missy recalled. “I was in shock and wanted to make sure Grayson was OK. I thought I would go to Leominster hospital and get a few stitches.”

She finally got in touch with her husband Chris, who “raced down” to the scene of the accident and gathered their son while she was taken by ambulance to the UMass Memorial Medical Center University Campus on North Lake Avenue in Worcester, where she spent nine harrowing and lonely days.

Missy tested positive for COVID-19 when she arrived at the hospital, which meant no visitors for the entire time she was there. She happened to be wearing the “celebration outfit” marathon finishers are given and was heartbroken when the medical team said they were going to have to cut the pants to get to her mangled left leg.

“I asked them to save the unicorn,” she said of the iconic Boston Marathon symbol.

Running the Boston Marathon for the second year in a row in April was even sweeter this time around for lifelong Leominster resident Missy Hendry, who is coming up on the one year anniversary of almost losing her left leg in an accident. (COURTESY KELLY SHEEHAN PHOTOGRAPHY)

She remembers them examining her leg and doing a doppler ultrasound exam on it and her foot, and asked if she was going to lose her leg. Her calf muscle had been sliced through just behind her knee and she had a tear in a joint requiring multiple surgeries.

Fortunately, they were able to save her leg, but it was a close call because of “not having a pulse” in her foot when she arrived at the hospital. And then she ended up having some serious difficulties beginning with the first surgery of three.

“They thought I had a seizure going into surgery prep, but it was from a culmination of medicines they used that caused the complications,” Missy said. They “immediately cancelled surgery” and put her on life support in a medically induced coma to rule out brain damage from what they thought were seizures and so her body could rest. Two days later she woke up in the ICU and didn’t know where she was.

The second surgery was to close the slice in her joint and muscle with a synthetic graft and the third surgery involved a skin graft that came from her right leg.

“I had a nervous breakdown and was scared to go into second surgery,” Missy said. “All went well with the skin graft though and I was discharged with a wound vac that I used for three more weeks at home.”

Lifelong Leominster resident and two time Boston Marathoner Missy Hendry with her husband Chris (left), and sons Dawson, 5, and Sawyer, 15. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY)

She said the hospital stay was the most arduous and difficult time of her entire life. Her husband ended up testing positive for COVID-19 as well and her mother, who had raced down from the North Shore to be by her daughter’s side, wasn’t able to be with her either because Missy had COVID-19.

“Those days in the hospital were so lonely and isolating,” she said. “All I wanted to do was hold my husband’s hand and have him tell me everything was going to be OK. He had me squeeze the side of the hospital bed at one point. Something that little got me through some of the hardest moments of my life.”

Missy was born and raised in Leominster and has lived there her entire life, now with her husband of seven years Chris Hendry, CEO and president of IC Credit Union headquartered in Fitchburg, and sons, Grayson, now five and 15-year-old Sawyer Bourgeois. She graduated from St. Bernard’s High School in Fitchburg in 2000 and Fitchburg State University in 2014, where she met her husband while managing the college bookstore and he worked as well.

She said she is “very fortunate to be a stay-at-home mom” and has been active her entire life, playing sports in high school and then getting into running in 2018 “as one of the ways to heal my postpartum self.”

“I love a good challenge,” Missy said when asked what made her decide to run the Boston Marathon last year. “I fell in love with the Boston Children’s Hospital team I ran with and after my accident, I knew I had a second chance.”

She said that despite some challenges including finding childcare and the notoriously fickle New England weather, overall, the 20 weeks of training with the team for the marathon “is so great and makes the weeks go by.”

“Lifelong friendships were made,” Missy said of bonding with her teammates. “Winter weeks were definitely milder this time, but we did have lots of rainy Saturdays for the team long runs which took getting used to. I had days when I didn’t want to run but did it anyway. Chris is super supportive and would rearrange work schedules so I could fit in runs and towards the end of training, I was averaging 15 hours of running a week.”

Lifelong Leominster resident Missy Hendry had tears in her eyes when she crossed the Boston Marathon finish line last month, one year shy of nearly losing her left leg in an accident. (COURTESY MISSY HENDRY)

Her impressive finish time at this year’s Boston Marathon was 4:44:43. She said that as soon as she took a right onto Hereford Street coming up to what one runner referred to as “the sweetest left turn in the world” onto Boylston Street when the finish line comes into view, “the tears started to come.”

“The crowd is electric,” Missy said of the undeniable energy on Marathon Monday. “I knew my husband and kids would be at the corner when I took the left on Boylston Street and when I saw them, I got the fire in my feet that I needed to get down Boylston Street. I kept thinking, ‘wow I am doing this’.”

She turned 41 on April 14, the Friday before the marathon. Because of that milestone and Grayson’s birthday being the day after hers, Missy said they “made a weekend of it.” Sawyer ran the Boston Athletic Association 5K for the MR8 Team from the Martin Richard Foundation that Saturday in honor of the young boy who died in the marathon bombings 10 years ago.

“I saw Martin’s parents cheering on runners and was able to give them both hugs,” Missy said. “We also were able to witness the memorials that day and pay our respects to those who lost their lives that day and I met amputees that weekend. It was all a reminder how life can change in an instant but also a reminder how much good can come out of tragedy and trauma.”

She had “incredible support” at the marathon cheering her on, including her “dear friend Liz” and her friend’s family, who were at the beginning of the racecourse in Hopkinton.

“Liz understands the negative narrative that sometimes plays in my head and her being there helped me keep going,” Missy disclosed. “My brother Billy and sister-in-law Andrea and my niece and nephews Will, Wes, and Addi totally surprised me around mile five. Those kids make me so proud to be their auntie.”

Her aunt Lynne, father Bill, and stepmom Tracy and friends Aimee and Jeremy Murphy joined her husband and kids on Boylston Street.

“I called my husband after running to the top of Heartbreak Hill and said, ‘I’m coming babe,’” Missy said. “My aunt Les and Uncle Jordi surprised me further down Boylston Street and my mom and Peter were right at the finish line. I also had friends and family at home tracking me through the miles. I received hundreds of texts, phone calls, and messages on social media. I had an army around me; I still do. I can’t even put into words how having them all there made me feel. Family is everything to me. When I was lying in the hospital for nine days all I wanted to do was be with them. Those days were very long without them.”

She had to visit a wound clinic a couple times after she was discharged from the hospital and went through months of physical therapy. When Missy asked her doctor if she could run the Falmouth Road Race last August, just three months after the accident, he said “I don’t see any reason why not.”

“He said if I wasn’t in the shape because of running and all the muscle, my leg would have shattered.”

With the support of her husband, Missy is taking on her next big challenge — to become a Six Star Finisher of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, with her next marathon being the New York City Marathon on Nov. 5.

“Running a marathon is a metaphor for life,” she said. “It’s the victory lap of all that has been accomplished. It’s a celebration of just how far you can go. Everyday life isn’t ideal at times, but we just push through. Life happens, good and bad, just like in marathon training. It’s how we choose to respond. We all have that choice. I choose to show up. One of the hardest parts in healing from trauma is wanting life to go back to how it was before, to what we had once, and felt, and knew. But we can’t go back. We aren’t supposed to. We are different now. We know too much. Post-traumatic growth is the idea that painful life moments can lead to changes that can actually bring a positive impact on your life.

“I have a new perception of myself,” Missy continued. “I have found new strength and new possibilities in my life. I felt sadness. I felt anger. My time in the hospital, alone, was so scary and isolating. This life felt so fragile. Through running, I developed a changed confidence. I am vulnerable in this life, but I am stronger than I thought I was. I also have a changed life philosophy. My priorities have changed and I have become more intentional with my time. I am more present and mindful with the ones I love the most.”

Lifelong Leominster resident Missy Hendry gave a thumbs up while running the Boston Marathon last month, the second time she has finished the iconic run for the Boston Children's Hospital team and just shy of one year since she almost lost her left leg in an accident. (COURTESY MAFFEI-ALBERS PHOTOGRAPHY) — Lifelong Leominster resident Missy Hendry gave a thumbs up while running the Boston Marathon last month, the second time she has finished the iconic run for the Boston Children’s Hospital team and just shy of one year since she almost lost her left leg in an accident. (COURTESY MAFFEI-ALBERS PHOTOGRAPHY)

Missy’s Boston Marathon fundraising link is live through May 8. At press time she had raised $18,147 which exceeded her goal of $10,000. Her fundraising is part of the Boston Children’s team for the NYC marathon. She has also partnered with GazBar Sports Grill, a hometown business who will be hosting a 5K Fun Run in the fall with proceeds going toward Missy’s fundraising efforts.

“All the fundraising I do goes toward the lifesaving research and exceptional care the children and families receive at Boston Children’s Hospital,” Missy said. “I have a change in how I view others. I am more compassionate, empathetic, and strongly connected to those suffering. This has become my gateway to change the world, a fire has been ignited within me to help kids fighting their own health battles.”

When she applied for the Boston Children’s team last year, they partnered her with a patient, a 10-year-old girl with cerebral palsy. Missy ran Boston and will be running the NYC marathon for her and said that when her husband handed her the marathon patches, he had tears in his eyes.

With the one-year anniversary of the accident coming up on May 11, Missy said she and Chris have been looking through pictures and reflecting on the last 12 months and how far she has come.

“It is pretty phenomenal what the body can do,” she said. “I feel like I have a second chance and I’m very happy I’m here to share my story with others. I hope it inspires people to keep going even when bad things happen. I hope it makes people smile.”

Ed Davis at Boston Marathon bombings hearing calls out government for getting in way of police doing their jobs

April 26, 2023 by pkzadmin

Police departments across the country are afraid to use tools that could help prevent crime from getting out of hand due to possible backlash from the government and public.

Former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis shared that message in Washington on Wednesday during a hearing on the lessons learned 10 years after the Boston Marathon bombings.

Davis, the city’s police leader at the time of the tragedy, called for a “clear direction” from the feds on how departments should be using technology in policing. He pointed to how some cities and towns in Massachusetts, including Boston, have banned the use of facial recognition.

“I understand the concerns about privacy in those situations,” Davis said, “But we must remember, as a government, that the police are the security team for the poor people in our cities. It’s scary to think that a political body has eliminated the use of an effective tool to solve crime at the local level.”

Wednesday’s Senate hearing focused on the 2013 bombings and the impacts on emergency preparedness and homeland security.

During her opening statement, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, chair of the Emerging Threats and Spending Oversight Committee, remembered the five victims who died during and in the aftermath of the tragedy — Martin Richard, Lingzi Lu, Krystle Campbell, Sean Collier and Dennis Simmonds.

“As a New Englander,” the Democrat said, “I am proud of the rapid response to the horror of the attack on that day, and last week, on the tenth anniversary of the bombing, I was proud to watch joyful crowds urging on determined race participants. However, there is still much work to do.”

While entertainment venues have bolstered security over time, it’s not the case for other spaces, said Davis, now the president and CEO of the Edward Davis Company, a security consulting and crisis management firm advising companies on risk mitigation, compliance and emergency response.

Davis urged Congress to consider expanding the SAFETY Act to schools and places of worship. The legislation, enacted in 2002 following 9/11, provides incentives for the development and deployment of anti-terrorism technologies by creating systems of risk and litigation management.

“We are surprised how woefully inadequate some of the places are,” Davis said. “It doesn’t take much to get them up to a level [of preparedness] that might dissuade somebody from attacking them, but it’s sort of the attitude that ‘This can’t happen here’ that we battle.”

The country is “awashed” in threats, said Kerry Sleeper, a former FBI deputy assistant director. The National Threat Operations Center receives roughly 3,000 reports a day, he noted.

“We had a remarkable focus post-9/11 federal, state and local partners coming together across the broad public safety spectrum, after Boston,” Sleeper said. “Unfortunately, because of COVID … many critical functions and meetings that should be taking place to stay ahead of the threat are not happening.”

Boston Athletic Association meets with Black running groups after Boston Marathon police presence: ‘We did not deliver on our promise’

April 20, 2023 by pkzadmin

The head of the Boston Athletic Association is admitting that the Boston Marathon organizer must “do better” after Pioneers Run Crew and another racially diverse running group were blocked by police officers at their cheering spot in Newton on Marathon Monday.

B.A.A.’s leaders met with Pioneers Run Crew and TrailblazHers Run Co., on Wednesday night after Newton Police officers with bicycles lined up at their tent along Heartbreak Hill at Mile 21. This restricted the group’s cheering access to the road and their ability to give out high fives to runners. Cops also took positions behind the group’s tent.

The police officers did this after the B.A.A. had alerted police three times about spectators crossing the rope barrier and impeding runners. Pioneers Run Crew and other running groups have noted that thousands of spectators jump onto the course, but this type of police presence only happened to a group of predominantly Black and Brown spectators.

In the wake of this controversy, the B.A.A. has met with the aggrieved running groups.

“We know what the Boston Marathon means to our communities; it is very personal to so many of you,” Jack Fleming, president and CEO of the B.A.A., said in a statement on Thursday. “We know that everyone who participates loves to celebrate the excitement of the race, whether you are an athlete, volunteer, spectator or supporter.

“However, this year, we know that we did not deliver on our promise to make it a great day for everyone,” Fleming added.

Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston on Wednesday wrote a letter to the City of Newton and Newton Police about “racial profiling at the Boston Marathon.” The civil rights group is calling for an independent investigation of police surveillance and law enforcement tactics at the marathon.

During the B.A.A.’s meeting with the running groups, the members “expressed to us their deep concerns that they were not given the chance to enjoy the day and celebrate their friends, families and all participants as they approached Heartbreak Hill — that is on us,” Fleming said.

“It is our job, and we need to do better to create an environment that is welcoming and supportive of the BIPOC communities at the marathon,” he added.

Eight cities and towns make up the Boston Marathon course, from Hopkinton to Boston.

“We could not do it without the first responders and law enforcement agencies across 26.2 miles that is necessary at an event of this scale,” Fleming said. “We ask for everyone’s support as we move forward to improve the event for generations to come.”

Pioneers Run Crew at the Boston Marathon was surrounded by police in Newton: ‘This is racially targeted overpolicing’

April 18, 2023 by pkzadmin

Members of the running community are alleging ‘racially targeted overpolicing’ after officers at the Boston Marathon surrounded a predominantly Black running group and blocked them from giving out high fives at their electric cheering spot in Newton on Monday.

Pioneers Run Crew, a Black- and Brown-led running group in Boston, sets up a tent every year along Heartbreak Hill at Mile 21 — helping power marathoners up the toughest stretch of the 26.2-mile course. It’s a highlight of the race for many runners to pass by Pioneers Run Crew, and get that extra lift when they desperately need it.

On Monday, a group of police officers with bicycles lined up at the running group’s spot in Newton, restricting their cheering access to the road and their ability to give out high fives. Police officers also took positions behind the group’s tent.

This doesn’t happen at other parts of the course, the members said, showing in a video how the opposite side of the road did not have any police blocking spectators.

“Why are we surrounded by police? I mean, why are we surrounded by police? Is it like this the whole way of the course?” Jean Mike Remy asked police officers in a video that has gone viral after Monday’s race.

“We can’t cheer no more,” he added. “I guess we can’t cheer no more… that’s not overpolicing at all.”

A Newton Police spokesperson said in a statement about the incident: “After being notified by the B.A.A. three times about spectators traversing the rope barrier and impeding runners, the Newton Police Department responded respectfully and repeatedly requesting that spectators stay behind the rope and not encroach onto the course.

“When spectators continued to cross the rope, NPD with additional officers calmly used bicycles for a short period to demarcate the course and keep both the runners and spectators safe,” the police spokesperson added.

The Boston Athletic Association said in a statement, “The B.A.A. is committed to creating a safe and enjoyable experience for athletes, volunteers and spectators across all our events.”

This type of blocking police presence occurs in Boston along Boylston Street during the marathon, but not at running groups’ tents in the suburbs.

Like other running groups, members of Pioneers Run Crew will occasionally step onto the course and run with their friends up the hill.

“Thousands of spectators have jumped onto the course,” November Project Boston, another running group that was set up at Mile 18, wrote on Instagram. “Thousands of spectators cheered their hearts out. But the only group that saw a massive police presence as a result was a group of predominantly Black and Brown spectators (in an affluent, overwhelmingly white suburb).

“Make no mistake — this is racially targeted overpolicing,” November Project wrote.

Earlier in the day before the police arrived, past marathon champion Des Linden can be seen on video pumped up as she ran by Pioneers Run Crew at Mile 21. The group showered her in confetti.

“We’re having a blast,” Remy said describing the scene before police showed up. “We’re cheering everybody on. We’re high fiving. We’re waving. Confetti’s popping. DJ’s spinning. And along the way, a strong police presence shows up, specifically to our cheer zone to back us on up, to keep us from high fiving, to keep us… from celebrating too much, from having too much fun.”

“It is such an amazing party, but this just left a sour taste in my mouth,” he later added.

Olympian Kara Goucher tweeted about the incident, “Really upsetting to see this today. I cannot imagine this happening — yet it did. A day of celebration and joy tainted by this. What are we doing? Running community — we preach inclusivity but we have a long way to go. This is not ok.”

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