Boston Marathon includes School of Public Health athletes

photograph, Marc Jeuland

Environmental sciences and engineering doctoral candidate Marc Jeuland
finished 15th overall and third among American men in a field of more than 22,000 in the event. His time of 2 hours, 20 minutes, 57 seconds, was only 13 minutes longer than the first place runner, Robert Cheruiyot, of Kenya, who completed the course in 2:07.46.

“At the finish, someone called out, ‘You’re 15th,’ and I couldn’t believe it,” Jeuland said.

Other participants from the School of Public Health included:

• Patricia Drummey, recent environmental sciences and engineering master’s graduate (3:30:13);
• David Leith, PhD, professor of environmental sciences and engineering and recent Greenberg Award winner. Leith’s time was 3:51:34,155th in his age division; and
• Harsha Thirumurthy, PhD, assistant professor of health policy and administration, whose time, 2:35:58, placed him 99^th among men in the race.

Drew Steen, graduate student in the Department of Marine Sciences and Jeuland’s friend, praised Jeuland’s performance in the race, especially given that travel and illness had caused him lost training time.

“Marc’s too self-effacing to talk about himself, but he’s had a number of running successes in his time at UNC,” Steen said, “including a strong showing at the U.S. Olympic qualifiers in New York in November 2007. He came to UNC after a three-year stint in the Peace Corps in Mali, where he was sufficiently instrumental in the construction of a new wastewater treatment station that it was named after him.”

Jeuland’s graduate research is focused on the impacts of climate change on the economics and planning of dams, with a particular focus on the Blue Nile Basin in Ethiopia. He worked with a local sanitation company near Bamako, Mali, on the wastewater treatment project.

Jeuland says he runs “because it keeps me healthy, provides balance in my life and also is a way to unwind from the rigors of academic study and work.” He enjoys the camaraderie of running with friends, especially those at the Carrboro Athletics Club.

“Boston’s a great race, with a long history, a challenging course, and terrific crowd support,” he says, “and I came away from the race feeling very happy to be a marathoner.”

Thirumurthy shares those sentiments.

photo, Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy

“It was a fantastic day for a marathon,” he says, “and the crowds in Boston were very supportive. I also had many friends on Heartbreak Hill, which is the most difficult section of the course.

“I’m ecstatic about my time, which was an improvement of 11 minutes over my previous best. And I’m thrilled that I kept practically the same pace throughout the race, with miles 20 to 26 being slightly faster than miles 14 to 20. It was the first marathon in which I didn’t slow down considerably towards the end.”

Drummey is new to the marathon experience, having qualified for Boston at an event in Maine last fall. After the race, she described how it felt to see her mom cheering her on at the top of Heartbreak Hill.

photograph, Dr. Tricia Drummey

“I had ‘Patti’ written on my shirt,” she said, “which was great because it got a lot of cheers from the spectators. It was also good because I actually go by ‘Tricia,’ so when my mom, friends and family yelled ‘TRICIA!’, I knew it was somebody who actually knew me. I heard and saw my mom while I was approaching, and ran on by, but had to turn around to give her a quick, sweaty hug.

“We decided,” Drummey teased, “that’s where the extra 13 seconds on my 3:30 time came from.”

photograph, Dr. David Leith

Leith was modest about the fine showing he made. “To run in the Boston Marathon has been an ambition of long standing and I’m glad to have done it, finally. I’m also glad it’s over,” he said.

School of Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu.