Lynnfield 4-11

APRIL 12, 2018
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 9
Sports
Double the fun at the marathon
By Anne Marie Tobin
A pair of former Lynnfield High state
track champions are taking to the streets
come Marathon Monday in the biggest
race of their careers.
Twenty-four year old twin sisters, Brittany
and Gretta Hunt, are running in this
year’s Boston Marathon as members of the
Dana Farber Marathon Marathon Challenge
team (DFMC) in honor of their grandfather,
Don Hunt, a long-time Lynnfield resident,
who is battling kidney cancer.
Brittany Hunt, who ran track and cross
country at the University of New Hampshire,
applied to run in late September as
a member of the DFCM team, which supports
the Claudia Adams Barr Program
basic cancer research at Dana-Farber
Cancer Institute. After learning that Brittany
had been accepted, Gretta thought,
why not?
“I had run a half-marathon but never
a full one, and had not trained in four
years,” said Gretta, a 2015 graduate
of Emmanuel College “I had always
thought it so when Brittany got in, it lit
a fire in me, so I applied. I have always
loved the marathon and just cannot believe
all the energy from the crowds and
the runners, it’s just unreal. I get chills
just thinking about.”
There’s another reason why Gretta gets
chills. Five years ago, she was standing
on Boylston Street at the finish line when
the bombs went off. She had been watching
the race with college friends, but after
the group split up, Gretta stayed on by
herswelf to cheer the finishers.
“It was my first Boston Marathon and
the race was going fine and I even had
a sign that said ‘stay strong’,” I was
looking down Boylston and saw the first
bomb go off. Most people didn’t know
what happened, but I knew that it was a
bomb, so my first instinct was to call my
mother (Rose). She was so calm and told
me to run so I started running. Most people
it seemed just stopped in their tracks.”
While she was running her head was
flooded with emotions.
“I thought where do I run, so I ran toward
a building, but all the time I thought
what if I am running toward more bombs.
I thought I might be buried if there was
a bomb in the building and what if the
building collapsed, I mean, I was a college
sophomore and thought I’m too
young to die.”
At home, Hunt’s father Doug jumped into
his car and sped into Boston to meet Gretta
at their designated meeting location.
“I was never so happy to see my father
in my life,” said Gretta. “He said h e
made the trip in like 10-12 minutes, but
seeing him was just the best. But it was
so surreal to see it as it was happening.”
Hunt said that for the first time in her
life, she could not bear to watch the television
news and that, even now, she is
ever vigilant when in a large crowd.
“I am always checking to see how I can get
out,” she said. “I definitely am more anxious
when I find myself in a closed-in space.”
Brittany said she was inspired to run by
Lynnfield High track and cross country
coach Joe DiBiase.
“He has run many marathons and always
encouraged me to think about running,”
she said. “So I applied knowing it
COURTESY PHOTO
Twins Gretta Hunt, left, and Brittany Hunt with the Lynnfield 2011 state Division 4 outdoor track championship
trophy. The twins will run the Boston Marathon Monday in honor of their grandfather, Don Hunt, who is battling
kidney cancer.
‘I have always loved the marathon
and just cannot believe all the energy
from the crowds and the runners. It’s just unreal.’
is so difficult to get in so I was so surprised
that I was accepted. Since then, Mr. DiBiase
has been emailing me non-stop and
even dropped off a care package at home.”
Unfortunately, both girls have been victimized
by their overzealous approach to
training for the race. Both have struggled
with plantar fasciitis and other injuries that
took them off the roads and into the gym.
“We definitely both overdid it but it
is so hard to train for it and I have never
put this much mileage on my body,” said
Brittany. “We both had to take a 2-week
layoff, but kept up the training on the bike
and in the pool.
The twins were 3-sport athletes at Lynnfield
High, playing soccer, basketball
and running outdoor track.
Their final season was one for the ages.
Despite bringing only 10 athletes to the
2011 Division 4 championship meet, the
Pioneers defied the odds and captured the
state title.
“We knew we had to place and do better
than we had ever done before in order
to have a shot at winning,” said Brittany
Hunt. “Nobody was more surprised than
GRETTA HUNT
Running Monday’s
Boston Marathon
we were when we won it, it was really
just an incredible experience and a great
way to finish our high school careers.”
Both Hunts set PRs in the meet, with
Brittany finishing fifth in the mile and
pole vault and Gretta finishing fifth in the
400 hurdles.
Brittany Hunt graduated from UNH in
2015, earning a degree in family studies
with a minor in education. She recently
moved to Somerville and works as a special
needs paraprofessional at Huckleberry
Hill School while pursuing a masters
in moderate disabilities.
Gretta Hunt, who resides in Brighton,
earned a communications degree at Emmanuel
and works as a recruiter for Data
Dog, a tech company.
While the twins may have entered the
world together, it will be every girl for
herself come marathon Monday.
“I’ve been told that when you run a
marathon you have to run at your own
pace, so I told Gretta that we’ll have a
kiss and a hug at the start line, and then
run our own races and meet meet up at
finish line,” said Hunt. “We both want to
do our best and don’t want the pain to last
any longer than it has to!”
For both girls, finishing means so much
more than just running 26.2 miles.
“I have seen so many people while on
training runs who were injured that day
and lost limbs,” Gretta said. “Just last
week I was running and saw the dancer
who lost her leg running with a prosthetic,
and it was really so emotional to see
that strength. It’s so important to remember
and never forget what happened, just
draw strength from seeing how so many
have persevered. Turning the corner onto
Boylston will be very emotional for me.
“I went into it thinking I could run it in
sub-4 hours, but that’s not realistic, so I
am going to enjoy the race, soak it all in
and hopefully finish,” she said, adding “I
proud to get through the winter and it all
comes down to It’s a celebration of all the
hard work you have done. I’m going to
finish even if I have to walk.”
Sister Brittany agreed.
“I know it’s going to feel amazing,” she
said. “Gretta said that when you turn that
last corner and see the finish line, it was
be just incredible. I don’t know whether
or not I will run another one, right now I
would probably say no, but I am hoping
to feel different once I hit that finish line.
“Obviously I would love to run it in less
than four hours, but right now considering
the injuries, my only goal is to finish
strong and not be in too much pain!”
Both girls have raised more than $5,000
for Dana Farber. To make a donation to
either campaign, visit the DFMC website
at www.rundfmc.org.