Boston Marathon. Photo courtesy of
Peter Merhige
On April 17, nearly 30,000 runners battled rain and strong headwinds to conquer the 26.2-mile challenge of the Boston Marathon. Two of the runners in this prestigious long race were Newtown Square’s own Peter Merhige and Broomall’s Sean Egan.
The Boston Marathon is not only a patriotic event for both runners and the city of Boston, it’s also the world’s oldest marathon. Even more special this year was that the event honored the tenth anniversary of the tragic bombing that occurred back in 2013.
What makes the race elite is that to enter, you must qualify with a time of 3 hours or less to run. Peter and Sean competed alongside runners from all over the world who had qualified by scoring fast age-group times in marathons.
Peter, a 25-year-old Newtown Square native, has competed in several distance races including the Philadelphia half marathon. Nothing could quite compare to competing in what he said is the pinnacle of amateur running competitions: “Runners everywhere strive to compete in the Boston Marathon. To say I got to run in it is an honor,” he said. With the event being held on a regional holiday called Patriot’s Day, Peter explained many people are off from work and droves of fans lined the entire 26 miles of the marathon.
“Many of them were dressed in blue and gold and Boston Strong gear. There was such unbelievable energy!”
Peter has been running since he was a sixth grader at the Haverford School for Boys. He grew up in Wayne until his family moved to Newtown Square in 2014, and throughout middle school and high school, he participated in the school’s cross-country teams. He went on to college at Bucknell University and although he wasn’t a member of the track team there, he continued to enjoy running as a hobby.
When the pandemic hit during Peter’s senior year of college, he moved back home to Newtown Square temporarily that spring before his college graduation. With more time on his hands, he began training more seriously to enter races, even consulting with his former high school coach Brian Long.
For the past few years, Peter has worked for Spencer Stuart, a global executive search and leadership consulting firm and he now lives in Washington DC. Peter also found that running was a great way to unwind after work to detach from screens. “Movement is medicine,” he explained. “It really brings me peace.”
Despite the tough conditions on the day of the Boston Marathon, Peter said it was an amazing experience. “Having family and friends there to cheer me on made the day extra special,” he said.
Broomall resident Sean Egan, 23, also began his running career in middle school. After tagging along with his older sisters to their cross country practice at St. Annies in Newtown Square, he decided to join the CYO team too and he’s been running ever since. During his years as a high school student at La Salle High School, he was a member of their cross country and track and field teams. After high school, he went on to Temple University, where he studied nursing.
His freshman year, Sean was a walk-on for Temple’s Division 1 cross-country team and he ran all four years until he graduated in 2022. Sean is now a nurse at Lankenau Hospital and continues to run in his free time. “I love running with other people,” he said. “It’s a great way to spend an hour and a half with friends. It’s also great stress relief.”
Sean had run in several local races including the Broad Street Run and Marple Newtown’s own Firecracker Run on the Fourth of July. When his older sister Fiona, who lives in Media, decided to run the Boston Marathon, Sean decided to join. “Ever since she was a student at Boston University, the marathon was on her bucket list,” Sean explained. Now that Sean’s competed in the Boston Marathon, he’s already looking ahead to train for his next race in October, the Chicago Marathon.
Congrats to Peter and Sean, who finished the Boston Marathon with impressive times of 3:08:42 and 2:37:39, respectively. Thank you for sharing your story with your Marple Newtown Friends & Neighbors!