As he prepared to run his first Boston Marathon this year, Reed Juckett discovered his ideal training ground on Beacon Hill
Juckett, a 30-year-old marketing and consulting specialist for the Boston firm Revenue Architects, also found camaraderie among fellow runners, regardless of the elements, as he sprinted across the steep hills of Anderson and Pinckney streets or traversed the Charles River Esplanade.
“You’ll be out there on a cold, dark night and find a lot of other people doing the same thing,” he said.
Juckett ran his first-ever footrace to support the Wildflower Camp Foundation, a Wellesley Hills-based nonprofit that provides scholarships to summer camps and other enrichment programs for children who have recently lost a parent.
“Wildflower is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary, and we are hoping to support 41 kids this summer,” said Juckett, who has served on the group’s board of directors for the past five years. “We just hope we can give them some sense of normalcy as they go through a devastating time.”
Joining Juckett in running this year’s Boston Marathon were his fellow Team Wildflower members John Stoller of Wayland and Tara Colby of Winchester, and together, they have raised $16,000 for the organization to date.
Juckett, who lived on Anderson Street for seven years before recently relocating to the North End, was also inspired to run this year’s Boston Marathon in the aftermath of the tragic bombings that marred last year’s event.
“Everything that went on last year resonated differently with people, and to have a chance to participate in the race’s return to Boston and run for those who couldn’t was something incredibly meaningful to me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Juckett is already looking forward to participating in next year’s Boston Marathon, again as a member of Team Wildflower. And although he no longer lives in the neighborhood, he said he would return to Beacon Hill to prepare for the footrace.
“I went out too fast and had a hard time on Heartbreak Hill, but I’ve already thought about what I want to do differently next year,” he said. “I probably didn’t spend enough time training on Pinckney Street.”
For more information on Wildflower Camp Foundation, visit www.wildflowercampfoundation.org, and to donate to Team Wildflower, visit http://www.crowdrise.com/WildflowerCampFoundation.