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SARASOTA — At least for now, in his home, Apollo Lirio is the Apollo of myth. His family thinks he is truly special.
He’s in no hurry for that to change.
“We’re going to milk it for as long as we can,” the Sarasota dentist said.
Milking marathon?
Not running empty:Sarasota runner sets record for 42nd consecutive New York City Marathon
Lirio isn’t a household hero just because he ran six marathons in four years, but kicking sneakers on the pavement was never on his sports to-do list. It’s an unlikely accomplishment, considering that. He played tennis in high school and lettered in rowing at Georgetown University. But running? Lirio left that to his wife, who has run more than 30 half marathons.
Over time, Lirio said, his dental practice, his role as a dentist for the Riverview High School team, and his side job making sports mouthguards “took him away from sports.” Then the pandemic forced him to take time off from his job.
“They locked me out,” he said. “I didn’t know if I would be able to work again. I even had trouble sleeping.”
An ad he saw for the New York Marathon changed that, and Lilio changed. The pandemic made it difficult to hold a physical race, so a virtual race was held instead. Competitors were able to plot a 42-mile, 385-yard course in their hometown. Once they ran and proved it, they were recognized as having completed the New York Marathon and their medals were immediately mailed to them.
“It gave me energy,” Lirio said. “It gave me something to focus on.”
Lirio and his wife completed the virtual marathon in 10 hours. But I felt better afterwards and had no intention of putting my running shoes in the back of the closet after one race. But even Lirio couldn’t have predicted how that virtual marathon would serve as a springboard to the top of his bucket list. What really impressed his family was.
“I started thinking, ‘How amazing would it be if we could do that?'” Lirio said. “I’ll do it.”
The six marathons he participated in (Chicago, New York City, Boston, Berlin, London, and Tokyo) are considered the six largest and most famous marathons, and are therefore known as the “Abbott World Marathon Majors.” In 2016, the organization began issuing Six Star medals to competitors who completed all six of his marathons.
Since 2016, more than 8,000 runners have won medals. Last month, when Lirio crossed the finish line of the Tokyo Marathon in 5 hours and 20 minutes, the 50-year-old ordered running shoes from Amazon, made her own weight by filling a milk jug with water, and was able to beat the elite runner. It became. Running fraternity.
There was a celebration after Lirio, during which he was awarded the Six Star Medal. He didn’t shed any tears like he did after finishing the 2022 Boston Marathon. His body didn’t stiffen up like it did after finishing the 2021 Chicago Marathon.
“I just let out a loud scream of joy,” he said. Lirio improved his time with each marathon, from the 10 hours he ran in the virtual marathon in Sarasota to the 6 hours he ran in the Chicago Marathon to the 5 hours 20 minutes he ran in the Tokyo Marathon. The runner’s high that Lirio felt during that race was higher than usual.
“I was really full of energy,” he said. “I just went there. It was all adrenaline.”
Lirio has many photos and even more memories from The Running Man’s global adventures. He will remember the Boston Marathon, the oldest in the country, and the one that gave Lirio the most energy. “Boston was insane,” he said. “It was a great experience.” In London, cars run on the wrong side of the road and so do runners.
Lirio crossed Tower Bridge, passed Big Ben and finished at Buckingham Palace. The Berlin Marathon ended under the Brandenburg Gate, and in 1987 President Ronald Reagan instructed Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”
The furthest Lirio felt from Sarasota was during the Tokyo Marathon.
“It really felt like another world,” he said. “It was like running on Mars. Everything is different in different cultures.”
The difference included shouts and cheers from the people of Tokyo who were watching the race. There was nothing. “It was a quiet disco party,” Lirio said. “It’s very unobtrusive. It was just quiet. You could hear every sneaker tap on the road.”
He did not die in a traffic accident. Instead, Apollo Lirio was an expeditionary warrior.
He has the medals to prove it. And no matter how long it lasts, praise from his family.
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