Milton Resident Runs Boston Marathon for a Friend, a Cause

Just before the sun rises, Milton can be an extraordinarily quiet place. On select mornings, before the cars of early-morning commuters start to rev up, the sound of shoes pattering along the pavement might be the only sound for miles.

Often times, those shoes belong to and a group of neighbors he’s running with the train for the Boston Marathon.  Kelley’s 5:30 a.m. runs are usually with Steve and Terri Murray, Dave Dobrindt, Cindy Jolliemore, and Jennifer Melkonian. The group has been training for the past three months; beginning in the heart of the blustery winter we’ve just escaped.

Kelley, a Chopra Center-certified meditation teacher and owner of thebostonbuddha.com, says the early morning runs, which he almost always does outside despite temperatures in the single digits some days, provide a rhythmic calming like meditation.

Though his training centers on a 5 a.m. meditation session and then a pre-determined run in that brief window between night and day, Kelley isn’t running for self-discovery. He is running for a cause and for a friend.

Kelley is participating in the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge in honor of his former employer, Dean Gaskill.

Before he became the Boston Buddha, Kelley worked in the TV industry for Gaskill, who he describes as “quiet, warm and generous.” Gaskill passed away in 2005.

Since then, Kelley has raised money for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute while running the Dana Farber Half-Marathon and the 2008 Boston Marathon.

Kelley’s goal for this year’s marathon is $8,200, a figure that if reached will put him over $20,000 in fundraising for the DFMC team since 2005. He is still under that goal with just six days until the starter pistol sounds on Monday, April 18.

As a kid, Kelley used to raise money for the American Heart Association through swim meets. When it came time for his first Boston Marathon in 2001, Kelley decided to pass on the fundraising and focus on the accomplishment for himself.

On the day of that race, Kelley said he felt awkward for not using the marathon as a means to help. Gaskill’s illness eventually moved him to support cancer research in his future endeavors.

Outside of his neighbors, Kelley has trained with the L Street Running Club and the Dana Farber Team, which is 500 people strong. On the weekends, Kelley takes long runs with the DFMC team.

“They’re an amazing group of people,” Kelley said of the team, which includes cancer survivors and even people who are undergoing chemotherapy.

By next week, Kelley will have logged 91 runs during his three months of training. Throughout the process, he has been keeping friends, donors and readers updated on his website through blog posts.

Sometime this week is plans to make a final post that will recap stats like how much money he’s raised, how much weight he’s shed and how much Advil he’s needed to recuperate.  Outside of his neighbors, teammates, and that ibuprofen, Kelley also credits his wife Catharine Uyenoyama and their son Hayden with making his training a success.

“They put up with a lot during my training and it isn't easy on them,” said Kelley. “I'm never home when they wake up and pretty much disappear for hours on weekend mornings.”

On marathon day, Kelley hopes to best his past efforts on the 26.2-mile course, with a time under four hours. “I’ve done the work,” Kelley said. “I should be able to do it.”

He’s also hoping to overcome his fundraising goal, another impressive task that could help save the lives of people like Dean Gaskill.

To contribute to Kelley’s fundraising efforts visit http://www.runDFMC.org/2011/andyk.