On Monday, April 16, Ben Bruno was miles away from his desk in the International Student and Scholar Services Office pounding the pavement in Boston as one of approximately 22,000 participants in the 116th running of the Boston Marathon. This proved to be one of the hottest Boston marathons on record with temperatures in Boston reaching over 85 degrees and pavement temps of over 100! Ben finished the race in 3 hours and 30 minutes which was slower than he had hoped, but an excellent pace given the weather.
This was Ben’s second marathon. To qualify for the Boston event he ran the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington in May 2011. Ben’s run was more than just a personal accomplishment, it was also a means to raise money for a scholarship fund that his father maintains in memory of his mother, Patricia Ann Bruno. Patricia passed away from ovarian cancer when Ben was 10 years old. Sixteen years ago Ben’s father ran in the Boston Marathon to raise money for the scholarship and Ben was very pleased to be able to follow in his father’s footsteps, literally and figuratively!
The Patricia Ann Bruno Memorial Scholarship is awarded each year to a student at Ben’s hometown high school, Goffstown, N.H., High School, who plans to pursue a career in elementary education. Patricia worked as a teacher in the neighboring town of Bedford.
Congratulations to Ben on an outstanding personal accomplishment and philanthropic pursuit!