Johnny Kelley

Track Runner

• Born: September 6, 1907
• Birthplace: West Medford, Massachusetts
• Died: October 6, 2004
• Place of death: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sport: Track and field (marathon)

Early Life

Born on September 6, 1907, John Adelbert Kelley was one of ten children. He first competed in track and cross-country at Arlington High School in Massachusetts. After finishing high school, Johnny worked at Boston Edison as a mechanic—there were no professional track athletes at that time. He still found time to run, however, devoting evenings after work to his sport. He once said, “All day long, I did what my boss told me to do. But when I ran at night, I felt free. I ran till I was exhausted.” His flexible work schedule allowed him time to train: Every other week he worked Sundays, which gave him a three-day weekend the following week. This allowed him to run two to three hours on Saturday as well as his normal 4-5 miles every other day.

The Road to Excellence

In 1928, at the age of 20, he first entered the Boston Marathon, the competition for which he became famous. Tired from running a marathon in Rhode Island shortly before the Boston race, he failed to finish the marathon when exhaustion took its toll; he accepted a ride from someone who offered him a lift to the finish.

Johnny did not attempt the Boston run again for another four years. He did not have running shoes and was forced to use a pair of black leather high-jumping shoes that he cut open at the toes with a razor blade. Even so, he was among the leaders for several miles of the race until his feet became so badly blistered he withdrew from the competition.

Not one to give up, Johnny ran again the following year. Although recovering from the flu, he finished thirty-seventh in a field of two hundred. In 1934, he ran again and finished second. He battled head-to-head with Dave Komonen of Canada before he watched his competition pull away. Finally, in 1935, Johnny achieved his dream when he finished first, more than two minutes ahead of Pat Dengis of Maryland. After the race, at the finish line, he collapsed in his father’s arms.

The Emerging Champion

In 1936 a portion of the Boston Marathon’s route was named after Johnny. He was the defending champion and, by his own admission, was a little cocky. When he was nearing a series of hills near Newton, Massachusetts, he came up behind Tarzan Brown, who was struggling to maintain a lead. Johnny lightly tapped Brown on the back, which only served to redouble his competitor’s effort. Brown went on to win the race. A reporter saw that touch as the turning point of the race and the beginning of Johnny’s defeat and so named it Heartbreak Hill. In 1993, a bronze statue of Johnny was erected at the foot of Heartbreak Hill.

Not content to run the Boston Marathon only, Johnny qualified to become a member of the 1936 U.S. Olympic team and compete at the Berlin Games. These games became known for Jesse Owens’s incredible victories and Adolf Hitler’s snub of Owens. Johnny finished eighteenth in the marathon. Although never really in contention for a medal, Johnny was content merely to be part of the Games.

Johnny continued running the Boston Marathon and competing in other races. He made the 1940 U.S. Olympic team but lost his chance to compete when Hitler’s army invaded Norway and the Games were canceled. After the war Johnny competed in one final Olympics. He ran the marathon in London, finishing twenty-first at the age of forty.

Continuing the Story

Johnny was not about to give up running despite having reached an age when most runners stop competing. The Boston Marathon was Johnny’s race, and he intended to run it as long as he could. Throughout the 1940’s and 1950’s he ran the twenty-six miles. In 1941, 1943, and 1944 he placed second. In 1945, he took the advice of a reporter and used his head to run a smarter, more evenly paced race and took first place. The following year he again placed second. After 1946, however, he began slowing down.

Despite slower times, every year Johnny stood at the starting line, waiting to run his race. In 1972, he retired from his job at Boston Edison but not from running. In 1992, at the age of eighty-four, Johnny ran his last Boston Marathon. He was the oldest man to have run the race. Famous for the number of times he had run it, he was made the 1995 Grand Marshal of the marathon. He attended the race every year until 1999, when he was sidelined by abdominal surgery. Although he ceased to run the marathon, Johnny refused to give up running. He and his wife retired to Cape Cod, where he was often seen running along the country roads or on the beach. In 2000, the magazine Runner’s World named him the runner of the century. Johnny died in 2004.

Summary

Johnny Kelley ran because he loved it, not because it paid him a lot of money. He began running at a time before professional athletics and lucrative endorsements made participating in sports profitable. Instead, Johnny worked as a mechanic and trained in his spare time. He also persevered and ran in the Boston Marathon every year from 1932 until 1992, ultimately becoming a legend. He used his fame to help a number of charities, including the Special Olympics. He established a Memorial Day race to raise money for his favorite charity, the Cape Cod Hospital.

Bibliography

Connelly, Michael. Twenty-six Miles to Boston: The Boston Marathon Experience from Hopkinton to Copley Square. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2003.

Derderian, Tom. The Boston Marathon: A Century of Blood, Sweat, and Cheers. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2003.

Lewis, Frederick, and Dick Johnson. Young at Heart: The Story of Johnny Kelley, Boston’s Marathon Man. Cambridge, Mass.: Rounder Books, 2005.

Martin, David E., and Roger W. H. Gynn. The Olympic Marathon. Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, 2000.