Westwood Runners Go the Extra Mile for Boston Students (Updated)

Thanks to Hale Education for contributing this news to Westwood Minute.

Westwood—Distance running can be a lonely endeavor, but that’s not the case for Sara Runnels, Chris Hanley, AnnMarie O’Flaherty, and Susie (MacGillivray) Tecklenburg. As members of Team Hale, the four are running to support Hale Education, an Official Charity of the Boston Marathon—which means hundreds of students, campers, and families will be rooting for them and 11 fellow teammates on Monday.

Chosen from a competitive pool of applicants to represent Hale in this historic race from Hopkinton to Boston, the four have already raised over $34,000 towards the team’s $120,000 goal. Funds will help Hale close the nature and opportunity gaps for Boston Public Schools (BPS) students through programs including Hale Outdoor Learning Adventures (HOLA) and Intrepid Academy at Hale (IAH).

HOLA provides elementary school students with academic learning opportunities, healthy physical activity, and social-emotional skill-building during the summer. IAH is an outdoor semester school for high schoolers that offers traditional course credit through nontraditional, active learning experiences.

Hale Education is a private, nonprofit organization that manages over 1,100 acres of woodlands, including four ponds and over twenty miles of trails in Westwood and Dover. Hale also hosts summer day camp programs, which annually serve several thousand children from 70+ Greater Boston communities.

Updated April 16, 2023. Photos of the runners have been added.