The peak of the pain running Boston’s famous race got its famous name from Tarzan Brown.
Brown won the marathon in 1936 and 1939, having first gotten his mojo 90 years ago cresting “Heartbreak Hill.”
The hill got its name from Brown having broken hearts when he first beat race favorite Johnny Kelley by getting the advantage on the 100-foot rise.
A group of Brown’s fans organized a campaign to raise money for a statue of Brown to be placed in a park in his Rhode Island hometown.
Byron Brown, 87, has heard stories about how his uncle once ran the last few miles of the marathon without shoes.
“I ran three-quarters of a mile barefoot once,” Byron told Bill Donahue of RunnersWorld.com, “and I couldn’t walk for two days.”
The sculpture honoring Brown’s feat will be formally dedicated later this spring.
The 130th Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 20.
Heartbreak Hill Boston Marathon Man Who Ran Barefoot Will Get Statue Honoring His Athletic Feat
By Ted Cohen
