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Running for Martin: Classmates, teachers on MR8 Tribute Team for 10th anniversary of Boston bombings

By Boston 25 News Staff
Martin Richard BOSTON, MA: A photo of Martin Richard, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, is displayed near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 20, 2014 in Boston, Massachusetts. The legacy of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombings will be felt across Boston during the 2023 running of the April classic when classmates, teachers, coaches, and friends of Martin Richard cross the finish line on Boylston Street. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
By Boston 25 News Staff

BOSTON — The legacy of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombings will be felt across Boston during the 2023 running of the April classic when classmates, teachers, coaches, and friends of Martin Richard cross the finish line on Boylston Street.

On Thursday, the Martin Richard Foundation announced the formation of the MR8 Tribute Team.

Some 50 runners chart the course from Hopkinton to Boston in honor of then-8-year-old Martin Richard, who was killed in one of the explosions near the finish line.

Next year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2013 attack.

“When we think about Martin, we think about all of his friends and classmates who are now eighteen and taking on the world as young adults,” said Bill Richard, co-founder of the Martin Richard Foundation. “We are so proud of how actively engaged they were over the last ten years in improving themselves and their community and the example they have set for the next generation of young people - This is an important year for so many reasons but mostly because these young people give us hope.”

Although Team MR8 celebrated its Final Finish in 2020, long-time Team MR8 veterans will join Martin’s brother, Henry Richard, who is the team captain, along with Martin’s teachers, coaches, and friends in promoting his lasting legacy of fairness and his message, “No More Hurting People, Peace.”

FILE - In this Aug. 16, 2017 file photo, Bill Richard, second from left, stands beside a painting of his son Martin Richard, the youngest person killed in the Boston Marathon bombing, at the conclusion of groundbreaking ceremonies for a Boston park named in Martin's honor. Besides the park, the family has also set up a foundation in Martin's memory. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)

The Martin Richard Foundation was established in 2014. The 2023 Team MR8 Tribute Team will kick off their marathon training season by having their first team run at this year’s MR8K on Sunday, December 4th.

“Since 2014, over 1,000 runners have raced over 23,000 miles and raised more than $6 million to further the Foundation’s Grant Making to fund direct service, community-based organizations that address social equity in the areas of youth development, adaptive and inclusive efforts, and community building,” according to a statement from the foundation.

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