Bill Romito

Bill Romito is well known in the Western Mass running community for having finished 37 consecutive Boston Marathons (and counting). Only 14 runners in the world have a longer active streak. But that is only part of the story. Bill has completed 223 marathons total, along with 13 Ironman Triathlon events.

 

In the 1970’s, Bill served in the Peace Corps for 2 years in Nepal, which gave him the opportunity to do quite a bit of hiking. When he returned back to Amherst, Bill discovered running as a way to maintain his fitness. He participated in a lunchtime running group at Mass Mutual, running 6 miles daily at a 7 minute/mile pace, and ultimately became involved in the WMass running clubs.

 

Bill initially joined the Sugarloaf Mountain Athletic Club, as they had a program that his children could participate in. Later, in the 80’s, Bill was a member of the Greater Springfield Harriers Masters Team, which participated in cross-country events all over the country. More recently, Bill has been a member of the Empire One Running Club.

 

Bill ran his first marathon, the Maine Coast Marathon, in 1983 at the age of 29. Once he got a taste of finishing a marathon, he set a goal to run a marathon in every New England state and then qualify for the Boston Marathon. In 1987, Bill completed the first of 37 consecutive Boston Marathons with a time of 2:53:23. Over the next few years, Bill’s marathon times improved; his PR is 2:38:45 in the 1995 Boston Marathon, placing 160th overall.

 

In addition to Boston, Bill ran numerous other marathons, a staggering 223 in all. But Bill did not just finish marathons - he pushed the pace.  For his first 100 marathons (an amazing feat in itself) Bill had an average time of 2:59:48!!  This even got 1968 Boston Marathon Champion Amby Burfoot's attention and he wrote of it in a Runners' World article.

 

Bill's favorite is the Clarence DeMar Marathon, which he completed 34 times, more than any other runner. He ran in marathons all over the country, as well as the Barcelona Marathon in Spain and the Florence Marathon in Italy. Bill once completed 13 marathons in a calendar year. In his prime, Bill ran 80 to 100 miles per week.

 

One month, Bill completed 4 marathons in addition to an Ironman event. An Ironman event consists of running a marathon as well as a biking 112 miles and swimming 2.4 miles. Bill’s first Ironman event was in 2001 and he has completed 13 total.

 

What Bill loves most about running are the people that he has met along the way, and the comradery with other runners. It was not about being the fastest, it was about making friends.