HAVERHILL — Simon Gitau is a native of Kenya and he’s running the Boston Marathon on Monday.
There is a lot of history between his country and the oldest road race in the world.
Kenyans have won the last four Bostons and 15 since the year 2000.
It begs the question: Is he going to win?
“No, no, no,” said Gitau, while laughing. “I’m more of a hiker than a runner.”
Come to find out Gitau is more like the majority of the other 30,000 or so that will go after the famous 26.2 mile course.
He not only is running his first Boston, which will be his third overall, but he is running for his wife, Florence, also a native of Kenya.
She passed away a year ago on April 11, 2023, at the age of 56, after a battle against stomach cancer.
And he was so moved by the way Florence, a nurse, was treated by her fellow employees at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, which is part of Beth Israel Lahey Health, that he is running in her name while raising money for the cancer center at Lahey.
“For six months while she was home and being treated, they continued to pay her salary, with her co-workers giving up vacation time and sick time for her,” said Gitau. “I can’t tell you how special they were to us.”
Gitau said running never was his thing growing up in Kenya. It was hiking, and really exploring.
“I love it,” said Gitau. “It’s very relaxing.”
He said his wife went with him on a few hikes, to take in some great scenery, but she wasn’t a big fan of her husband traveling to remote areas.
“She thought it was a little too dangerous, some of the places I would hike to,” he said. “She said I should take up running, instead.”
He took her advice, first in 2002 running the B.A.A. Half-Marathon, in which she rooted him on along the course.
After she passed, he took it to another level altogether, running marathons in Philadelphia (last November) and Memphis (December) and now Boston.
But Boston was different. In fact, those two marathons were part of his training for Boston on Monday.
He hired a coach, Brady Hoover of Newyburyport, whom he met in Haverhill. Hoover is a noted triathlon coach and has been working with Gitau the last six months.
“We meet on a weekly basis to discuss progress,” said Gitau. “I was running 10 miles [sometimes] and he wanted to me to be between eight and nine miles. He’s really helped me a lot.”
And so has his wife Florence’s memory.
The pair were married in Kenya and they later moved to India for work, both as nurses. They arrived in the U.S. in 1996, settling in Lowell before moving to North Andover in 2012 and Haverhill in 2019.
They had three children; Daniel (27), Andrew (25) and Joy 24.
His children have been a big help to dad, as support, over the last year.
“[Florence] was very selfless, kind and always thought of others before herself,” said Gitau. “Even through her struggles she never complained. She would suppress her pain to give comfort to others … I miss her dearly.”
Gitau co-owns Crossway Homecare in North Andover with his brother-in-law John Njoroge, which employs nurses of many disciplines involved with the care transition between facilities and at-home care.
Which brings us to race day. He ran the previous two marathons in just over four hours. With his training, he is hoping to get to the final line under 3:45.
He is one of 81 runners raising money for the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center and Beth Israel Lahey Health.
Gitau hearkens to a quote by famed American entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn in regards to giving back to the community.
“He wrote, ‘Don’t look to become a millionaire, but look for a million people you can motivate to become better.’ That’s my hope,” said Gitau. “That was my wife. and she will be with me every mile.”
You can email Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.