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By Stephen Press
Hometown Weekly Staff
On Labor Day morning, Carolyn Martin walked down Common Street in front of Walpole High School with two generations of her family. Around her, hundreds of others milled about, many of whom carried water bottles and backpacks to match their athletic apparel. Carolyn, however, had opted for a slightly more attention-grabbing accessory to round off her ensemble: a homemade placard that read “Go Hunter!”
Martin had come to Walpole High School to watch the 1 Mile Kid’s Fun Run at the 43rd Annual Walpole Labor Day Road Race. The Race, a Walpole institution dating back to 1974, is a yearly highlight for residents and running enthusiasts alike.
For Carolyn, it was an opportunity to cheer for a familiar face.
“Hunter is my little five-year-old grandson, and this is his first race, so we’re here to support him,” she said, brimming with pride. “Just to support the town and to support Hunter. Just to have fun - it’s a fun community thing!”
“I’m really excited,” added Hunter’s father, Brian Murphy, a veteran of the 2011 Chicago Marathon. “We’ve been practicing a lot the last few weeks. He was a little nervous this morning, but we turned on some tunes, got fired up, and I know he’s going to do a great job.”
Hunter, timidly sticking by his grandmother, proudly announced that he had run a full 1.4 miles with his father just a day earlier.
“I told him the goal is just to finish today,” said Murphy. “It’s his first race, so just finish, and at the end, there’s a reward - probably a Gatorade or something.”
“All races are kind of fun,” he reflected. “The buzz and the excitement before the race, and then after - it’s fun. We live in Walpole, so it’s fun to do a Walpole race.”
Jim Erker, Co-Director of the Road Race along with Tim Giblin, Conor Cashman and Fiona Murphy, knew the scene all too well. A former Walpole High School Athletic Director, Erker recounted the history of the event.
“This road race started in 1974, which was the 250th anniversary of the Town of Walpole, and it’s been going on ever since,” he explained. “It started as a five-miler and ten-miler, then a few years back, we changed it. Now we have a 10K and a 5K, which is the Walpole Ed Damish Race. Ed Damish is an institution in the road-running community - a great representative of racing - and has run in probably a thousand races, so the 5K is named for him.”
“It gets great community support,” added Erker. “We’ve got great support for the Police and Fire Departments, and from Walpole Recreation. And from 1980 on, the race has been sponsored by the Walpole High School Track and Cross Country Boosters. This is the main fundraiser for the Walpole High School Boys and Girls Cross Country, Track and Winter Track - all six seasons benefit from this. It’s just a great community event.”
Erker walked towards the mass of parents and children congregating by the roadside.
“We’ve been able to keep growing with the addition of the 5K and the Youth Mile,” he said as families thronged to the starting line on Common Street. “A lot of other races have shrunk as the Baby Boomers age, but we’ve been able to keep expanding and keep it going as a great event.”
