Four runners in this year’s race will try to go the distance as members of Team Ouimet, to support the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund that helps to award assistance to high school students who’ve been involved in the golf industry for at least two years. One runner on the team, Fletcher Sokul, has never competed in so much as a one-mile race, but feels compelled to give back to the industry for his experiences that began at Concord (N.H.) Country Club and led to his playing Division One golf.
Fletcher Sokul was one of four of the 30,000 runners in the April 17 Boston Marathon trying to go the 26.2-mile distance for Team Ouimet, as part of the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund that helps to award scholarships to high school students who’ve been involved in the golf industry for at least two years, the Concord (N.H.) Monitor reported.
Sokol, a Concord native, remembers his time growing up while living across the street from the driving range at Concord Country Club, the Monitor reported. Sokul spent many afternoons with the rest of the neighborhood kids out on the golf course, passing however many hours of sunlight were left on the tee boxes or greens of the 87-year-old course.
The game of golf impacted Sokul’s upbringing so much, he embraced the chance to give back to the game through this year’s 121st running of the Boston Marathon, even though he has “never run a race before. Period. End of story. Whether it’s a 5K or one mile,” he told the Monitor.
For Sokul, who graduated from Bishop Brady High School in Concord in 2011 after four standout years on the golf team and then went on to play Division One golf at Loyola (Md.) University, it was an opportunity that felt tailor-made, the Monitor reported.
“I applied [to run the Marathon as part of Team Ouimet] because I felt like it was a perfect fit,” Sokul said before the race. “I love the game of golf. I’d love to see the game of golf grow. I think that’s extremely important and anything to help kids succeed in college is extremely important and vital to help grow the game, so I thought it was a no-brainer.”
The Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund was founded in 1949 and was selected to receive bibs for the Boston Marathon for the fifth straight year, the Monitor reported. It is one of the largest golf charities in Massachusetts and aims to provide need-based scholarships to students “who have a demonstrated a strong work ethic by having completed at least two years of service to golf,” according to the organization’s website (http://www.ouimet.org).
Sokul said he didn’t know how many applications the organization received, but was shocked to hear he had been selected, the Monitor reported. He’s raised $10,000 on his own, and together with the other Team Ouimet runners, the four are aiming to raise $40,000 to help the fund give out $2 million in scholarships this fall.
“I felt like this was a good opportunity to run for a reason that matters to me and [that] I’m connected with,” Sokul explained to the Monitor. “I also live in Boston currently and Patriots Day is a huge deal down in the city. I thought it would be a really good experience and a fun experience to see if I could run the marathon.
“I’m obviously not going to break any land speed records with how I run,” he joked. But he had a large support team in attendance and was planning to try to finish the 26-mile course in under four-and-a-half hours, the Monitor reported.
“I think the atmosphere is going to be electric,” Sokul said before the race. “My biggest goal is I just want to finish. I have a bunch of friends and family that are going to be watching, and I think it’s just going to be really an experience that for me, because I’m not a runner, will probably be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“Once I cross that finish line it will be something I always have [done] and I feel like it’s a great way to really connect and become a true Bostonian,” he added. “Taking part in the Boston Marathon, whether it’s running, watching, or volunteering, that’s the best and most fun way to really connect with the community.”
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