A wave of runners start the Boston Marathon on Monday in Hopkinton, Mass. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
Patriots’ Day is a uniquely Boston day.
It’s not because Massachusetts is the only state that celebrates the holiday each April. It’s not; Maine, Connecticut and a few others also celebrate.
What makes the day unique is that Boston comes together to celebrate excellence. Bostonians line the streets from Hopkinton to Copley Square to cheer on runners as they push through the 26.2-mile marathon.
At Fenway Park, a late-arriving crowd typically descends upon Kenmore Square for the annual 11 a.m. Red Sox game. This year, one of those fans was Alex Cora, manager of the Red Sox. Cora planned to shoot to the finish line at a sprinter’s pace after his game, rushing to see his partner, Angelica Feliciano, run her first Boston Marathon.
On Sunday, he joked about joining her in the race.
“If we get into a fight, and I get suspended (Monday), I’m running the marathon,” Cora joked.
Joking aside, Cora picked up running this offseason. At the end of the 2023 season he decided he wasn’t taking good enough care of his health and started running with Feliciano. He slowly built up his mileage and lost about 25 pounds prior to spring training.
On Saturday, he ran his first 5-kilometer race before getting back to Fenway to lead the Sox to a 7-2 victory over the Angels, their first of the homestand.
“It was a great experience to be able to be out there and just be around people,” said Cora. “Older people, young people, kids running this thing. … This is cool, you know?”
A day later, Cora said he had immense respect for the people who would be running for hours on Monday.
“It’s something special,” said Cora. “All joking aside, what they’re trying to accomplish (Monday), I take my hat off and it’s going to be a fun day for everyone.”
Monday was a little different. The Cleveland Guardians came in to open up a four-game series, meaning the coaching staff had to arrive early for meetings to get ready for the series.
“Really early,” said Cora.
Everyone running the marathon, as well as the 5K race on Saturday, received a Boston Athletic Association medal. Cora and hitting coach Pete Fatse, who both ran the 5K, are now using their medals as part of home run celebrations. Triston Casas was wearing the BAA 5K medal after he blasted a 429-foot home run to right field on Saturday.
He was wearing it again a day later after belting his second homer in as many days.
Tyler O’Neill wears a medal from the BAA 5K after hitting a home run against the Angels on Sunday in Boston. Red Sox Manager Alex Cora and hitting coach Pete Fatse both ran the 5K on Saturday morning. Michael Dwyer/Associated Press
Tyler O’Neill and Masataka Yoshida got to wear it after going deep, too. The good vibes that seemed to be evaporating into the mist of a four-game losing streak were back just in time for the race.
All of this happened while the Sox wore their yellow and blue City Connect jerseys, inspired by the colors of the finish line at the Boston Marathon. The special uniforms help form a special bond between the race and the team, cemented forever by the 2013 bombings and the subsequent acts of kindness that followed.
That somber anniversary will be commemorated later in the week as part of One Boston Day. The event is part of the city’s effort to separate the joy of the race with the tragedy of the bombings.
In 2013, the Sox put together an improbable run to a championship that helped lift the city and get Bostonians back on their feet. This year, it’s the race and the inspirational stories of the people running it, that have helped Cora and the Red Sox overcome some early question marks that engulfed the team heading into the season.
Tom Caron is a studio host for the Red Sox broadcast on NESN.
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