Paolino to run 26.2 Sunday and Monday

MARATHON(S) MAN

Ex-Spinners groundskeeper honors military in special way

Jeffrey Paolino will run a marathon Sunday to honor a fallen USMC soldier. Paulino shown with the captain’s father, Scott Reynolds, left, and mother, Cathy Reynolds. COURTESY PHOTO

Methuen’s Jeffrey Paolino will run the Tough Ruck marathon Sunday and then the Boston Marathon on Monday. He is the former groundskeeper for the Lowell Spinners. COURTESY PHOTO

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By Jason Cooke

Correspondent

There was no vinyl finish line stretched along Boylston Street. The only semblance of a crowd was a handful of early-leaving Red Sox fans spilling out of Fenway Park.

With nothing but the music through his headphones and his intrinsic thoughts as fuel, Jeffrey Paolino eyed the streets of Boston. He still had some 30 miles to travel before returning to his Methuen home, where he would complete his 60-mile trek to Boston and back.

While he didn’t continuously run the whole way — stopping at Fenway Park to catch a few innings of the Red Sox game — Paolino’s jaunt wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

Last summer, he trudged 50 miles from Methuen to Salisbury and back in one day. Following his dash home from Fenway, he upped the ante with a 70-mile mission from Methuen to Rye Beach in Rye, N.H., a feat he accomplished in 22 hours.

So when Paolino, 39, embarks to complete two marathons in two days, the mileage will be nothing the ambitious athlete hasn’t seen before. On Sunday, Paolino is set to take flight in the Tough Ruck, a 26.2-mile march through the streets of Concord and Bedford in support of fallen military and first responders before reporting to Hopkinton on Monday for the 129th Boston Marathon.

Not only will he log 52.4 miles in two days, the first 26.2-mile journey will be with a 25-30-pound military-grade backpack.

“It’s possible,” Paolino said. “It’s just this will be a little different because there’s weight involved in the first 26.”

Sunday will mark Paolino’s sixth Tough Ruck, an event he appreciates for its physical and mental challenge as well as its tribute to fallen members of the military and first responders. Paolino served eight years in the Air Force Reserve and has a strong military background. His grandfather, Vito A. Paolino, was a Marine.

While keeping his grandfather’s memory alive, Paolino will be running in honor of fallen USMC Capt. Ross Reynolds, a native of Leominster. Paolino met the Reynolds family last year, and it only heightened his passion to stay involved with Tough Ruck.

“That really was eye-opening for me,” Paolino said. “I think at that point I realized I’m not doing these races for the finish lines or for medals. There’s a greater purpose, and it’s for families like Ross’s family and to remember his legacy and his service.”

Paolino said he plans to incorporate running, jogging and walking while lugging the ruck on his back to conserve as much energy as he can for Monday. The approach will mirror how he took on his trio of long-distance hauls in the summer.

And when he shifts his focus to Boston on Patriots Day, it will check a meaningful box for the 2003 Methuen High graduate who never had marathons on his radar.

Paolino attended UMass Lowell while working with the Lowell Spinners as head groundskeeper, a position he held from 2007-16. He juggled his groundskeeping job with classes at UML while dedicating weekends to his reserve duty. Paolino fondly remembers taking his oath in an on-field ceremony at LeLacheur Park.

He now works in Lawrence for the Department of Developmental Services as a program coordinator II to support individuals with intellectual disabilities, a role he’s had for nine years.

When he’s not at his 9-5 job, he’s committed to a strict training regimen that yielded his first Ironman Triathlon last spring in Texas. The gauntlet consisted of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and full marathon. He competed with fellow Air Force veteran Ryan Robertson, a training partner influential in his journey.

In February, he ran a marathon in Austin, Texas, and has been looking forward to his first Boston Marathon. Paolino is running in support of the Military Friends Foundation, the beneficiary of Tough Ruck. He was tasked with $15,000 in fundraising.

“It means so much to me,” he said. “So many people have crossed that finish line … it’s truly an honor.”

Paolino eventually hopes to conquer the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors. He’s registered for New York and Chicago in the fall and plans to run in Berlin, London, Tokyo and Australia.

Until then, he will be replenishing with food and electrolytes on Sunday night into Monday morning to prep for another 26.2 miles.

“I’ve got a lot of food already planned out,” he said, laughing. “I’ve got a lot of orders already in.”

Paolino is looking forward to the challenge. This time, his music and personal thoughts will be accompanied by so much more.

“I can’t tell you how many times it crossed my mind where I’m thinking back to some of my grandfather’s stories, and I reflect on that and say here I am, I’m able to have my nutrition, I’m able to hydrate appropriately surrounded by some great people running these races when his generation and many service members went through hell and back,” Paolino said.