Devon Schwartzberg to Run the 2024 Boston Marathon for Our Library!

Devon's Story

I am thrilled to be running the 2024 Boston Marathon in support of the Hopkinton Public Library. Running Boston in April will bring together two of the greatest joys of my life: reading and running!

From the moment I learned to read, it was my favorite childhood activity. I regularly visited the libraries in my school and our community to search for stories to capture my imagination. As a young child, my most treasured books were written by Beverly Cleary, and I vividly remember identifying with the characters she brought to life- especially Ramona Quimby. While I adored Ramona (and even pretended to be her at times) - there was no Beverly Cleary book that touched me more than Dear Mr. Henshaw. By some stroke of chance, I picked up that book - about a child whose parents were going through a divorce - during the exact time that my parents were going through a divorce of their own. Reading that story comforted me and reassured my seven-year-old self that she was not alone.

I loved reading and thinking about books so much that I ended up majoring in English Literature in college. It was during this time that I also discovered my love of running - going a few miles at a clip to stay in shape and blow off some steam.

After I graduated university, I joined the Coast Guard and continued to run. At my first duty station in Staten Island, New York, I developed an unfortunate case of plantar fasciitis that was so bad I could barely walk. I tried a number of medications and then a cast before my doctor decided that I needed surgery to repair my poor foot. Even after surgery it was a struggle to walk normally - much less run. My unit just happened to be located where the New York City Marathon starts. Watching the tens of thousands of excited runners line up, I made a promise to myself right then and there that if I was ever able to run again I was going to run that marathon!

Fast forwarding a few years, my foot was healed and I met my future husband. I got him started on running and told him about my resolution to run NYC. He agreed to put his name into the lottery with mine, and by some small miracle we were both selected. One of us was less excited about that than the other - but he was a great sport (and I was hooked!)

Somewhere along the running journey that’s followed, I found out about the Abbott Six Star program and immediately added completing all six majors to my bucket list. Since New York, I’ve run Chicago, Berlin, and London, and am currently training for Tokyo. Completing Boston will earn me my sixth and final star.

Words cannot express how grateful I am for the opportunity to accomplish one of my life’s goals while giving back to a part of the community that has given me so much!