28 February, 2012
The Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA) and the Hopkinton Community Endowment (HCE) have selected Bill York and Vijay Raghavan to be their runners in the upcoming Boston Marathon. The HCA was granted two marathon waivers in the recent lottery held by the Board of Selectmen and both York and Raghavan will raise funds for the HCA as they run the 26.2 mile course from Hopkinton to Boston on April 16.
"We are delighted to have these athletes running on our behalf," said Kelly Grill, president of the Hopkinton Center for the Arts. "We are hoping that their fundraising efforts will take us to the finish line in our quest to raise money for our new arts center."
To date, the HCA has already raised over $700,000 and Grill says they are well on their way to making their dreams come true.
York, who has been running for about 10 years, ran his first Boston Marathon in 2005. In 2006, he met Grill and started running for Enter Stage Left.
"I jumped at the chance to do this for the Hopkinton Center for the Arts this year," said York. "Local theater is very important to me and my children and we love the productions we see in Hopkinton and look forward to many more."
Ragahavan of Brookline said he didn't start running until his late 30s and initially thought that he could not complete a marathon, but when he learned that marathon runners can raise money for a cause, he was inspired to try.
"I ran marathons in Chicago, Cape Cod and Mount Desert Island," said Ragahavan. "It felt great to reach the finish line as it meant I helped to make the world a better place."
Ragahavan also says that he believes that art prevents starvation of the mind.
"Running the Boston Marathon for the Hopkinton Center for the Arts will help bring the arts closer to many who would otherwise stay hungry in their minds," said Ragahavan.
If you are interested in helping to support York and Ragahavan in their efforts, visit the Hopkinton Center for the Arts website.
