Run For The Memory suits Cook perfectly

By Mike Grenier
Staff Writer

April 18, 2008 09:59 am

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Tom Cook won't feel guilty when he goes to the starting line in Hopkinton Monday morning for his second Boston Marathon.

In some ways, however, he feels it's an egotistical pursuit.

"My wife puts up with the training that I do," said the Hamilton resident, who turned 50 in March. "I get to stay fit and healthy. It (Boston Marathon) is a selfish thing for me."

Cook's family would beg to differ.

Over the last four years, Cook has raised more than $15,000 for the Alzheimer's Association in memory of his mother-in-law, Margaret Connors, who passed away from the disease three-and-a-half years ago.

He did the fundraising with a two-day, 150-mile bike ride from Brattleboro, Vt., to Boston for two years, then turned to the Boston Marathon for the first time last year, when he was on the Run For The Memory Team for Alzheimer's. Altogether, the team raised nearly $210,000 for the Alzheimer's Association, one of the official charities of the Boston Marathon.

If that's a selfish approach, then the Boston Athletic Association would probably welcome about 25,000 Tom Cooks for its annual marathon run.

"Let's put it this way — I've been supported very well," said Cook, who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians as a pitcher out of Hamilton-Wenham Regional in 1976. "People were good to me when I did the bike ride, and the (Boston Marathon) is just something I wanted to do last year. Unless you do it, a lot of people just don't understand."

Cook feels it'll be a little easier to run Boston this year because he's more familiar with the course and what it takes to prepare for such a physically and mentally demanding event.

An emotional time

He's not one to broach the subject, but his inaugural Boston Marathon last year was anything but easy.

Cook's son Matt, who was a freshman pitcher for Hamilton-Wenham at the time, was struck by a line drive at practice on March 30, 2007 and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Matt was at Children's Hospital in Boston for a week before he was transferred to the Spaulding Rehab facility at Mass. Eye & Ear.

It was a very uncertain time for the family. Matt had some of the symptoms of a stroke victim, and no one really knew if he'd become completely healthy again. Tom and Ann Cook took turns staying overnight at the hospital.

Tom shut down his training in the final weeks leading up to the Marathon, and no one would've blamed him if he'd skipped the event.

"Tom wasn't sure he was going to run," said Run For the Memory team coach Rich Schilder of Belmont. "It was a tough decision. But what we've found is that people by and large bond with each other. They're all running for Alzheimer's and this team is a safe haven for them, an extended family. I think with Tom, it was his first Boston and having put so much work into it, it was cathartic for him to complete the marathon."

Cook finished the race in 4:03. As soon as he went through the chute and picked up his medal, he walked directly to Spaulding Rehab to see his son.

"It was very emotional," said Tom. "Matt wasn't (at the race) and the nurses tracked me on the Internet so he could find out how I did. He was proud, but he was still very, very sick. His speech was slurred and he was in a holding pattern. We didn't know what was going to happen."

Matt Cook, who just celebrated his 16th birthday yesterday, is no longer in a holding pattern. He made remarkable progress in the months after the Boston Marathon and was cleared to play sports at Hamilton-Wenham prior to the winter season. He was a starting forward for the Generals basketball team, which went 14-4, and is on the baseball team this spring.

Matt knows what his father went through last spring and admires him for it.

"One of my friends was going to the Red Sox game that day and came to the hospital and we sort of watched (the Marathon)," Matt Cook recalled. "I think it was pure mental toughness on his part to run that day. He fought through everything. I was proud of him.

"When he goes out on those long (training) runs now, it's just good to see him," added Matt, who hopes to see his dad run Monday if baseball practice doesn't conflict with the Marathon. "I think that any (Boston Marathon) charity that goes towards a cure for something is good. It can be the Jimmy Fund, it can be Alzheimer's — they all do a great job."

Raising money & awareness

Schilder's Run For The Memory Team for Alzheimer's consists of 37 runners, mostly from Massachusetts, but there are also two members from the state of Washington and one each from Minnesota, Louisiana and Ohio. Schilder says they hope to raise $225,000 to combat the disease.

According to the Alzheimer's Association, as many as 5.2 million people in this country are affected by the disease.

One of Cook's Run For The Memory teammates is former Danvers High cross country and track runner Katie Macdonald, 27, who now lives in Watertown. Macdonald wanted to get involved this year because her 74-year-old grandmother has Alzheimer's.

"My family has been affected — a lot of families have been affected by Alzheimer's," said Macdonald, who has raised nearly $5,000 since committing to the Marathon. "This is my first official Boston, and it's good to have a coach and teammates to run with.

"I know Tom Cook; he's a great guy. His son's story is unbelievable. I'm happy for his family."

With his son's health restored, Cook has been able to concentrate on the Alzheimer's charity to a greater degree this year. Like Macdonald, he'd like to finish under four hours and raise as much money as possible.

"I don't think people truly understand how devastating (Alzheimer's) is to a family," said Cook. "It's so (debilitating) for people who have it and with baby boomers getting older, the numbers could be mind boggling.

"Very selfishly, I'm concerned for my family, but I'm also concerned for all those who are affected. Whatever we can do to raise awareness is good."

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