Band of Brothers running club explains why they do it

By Beth David, Editor

You know you’ve seen them running around town. And you’ve seen them if you have been to any road race in Fairhaven in the last few years. They are the Band of Brothers running club. (Don’t worry, there’s a Sole Sisters, too.)

They started out at the LL Wood Elementary School and have ex­panded to the East Fairhaven School.

It was a way to get the kids moving, get them to spend quality time with the various men in their lives, and have fun, too.

Their last race will be this weekend on Father’s Day, 6/18. School ends on Monday.

Wood School PhysEd teacher Brian Munce asked the runners what it means to them to be a BOB.

Here are their answers to “What BOB Means to Me.”

Nathan Branco

To me BOB is a hard working, yet very fun group to be a part of. We run the Father’s Day Road Race and the West Island Road Race.

My favorite part of BOB is running with the younger BOBs.

That is what being part of BOB means to me.

Sam Green

It means no quits, you got this! It means GRIT. It means a good, no, a great experience. It means more over the top effort.

To me, it’s more than, “Oh, look, he’s a BOB.”

It means “thank you” to all the coaches for our time and effort. I (and many others) could not have done it without you.

It means commitment. It means exceptional job. It means, simply, hard work and fun.

Now, let’s all get out there and run.

Samuel P. Hubert

To be part of Band of Brothers, it takes commitment and pride. You have to be able to push your limits and try your hardest. As a 6th grader now, I have to be a role model to the younger runners. Which means trying my hardest and doing everything I can to take the next step.

I will not stop until I absolutely have to.

I have to encourage everyone, even the runners in grades above me and coaches, and through that they will want to keep on doing better and better.

To be part of Band of Brothers, you have to keep on going even if you hurt. You can buddy up with someone at your own pace and they will push you because they will be trying their hardest.

We are a group of boys who unite and become something great in the races. When people see our shirts with the words “Band of Brothers” on [them], they cheer as loud as they can because they know we stand for something, They know that we stand for commitment, pride, trust, and friendship.

This running club is all about training and pushing yourself, but along this powerful journey you will make friends and become committed to see that banner at the end of the race that reads “FINISH” in all capital letters.

You get that urge of adrenaline and you sprint to the end because you want to finish that race and be success­ful. You know that everything you have practiced and prepared for has come to this moment of glory. That moment where you cross that line.

Yes, you may be breathing heavy and you may be sweating so much that you have stains in your shirt, but deep down inside, through all the pain in you legs, chest, and arms, you know something. You know in your heart that you feel great about yourself and that is what Band of Brothers is all about. It’s about knowing that you are an athlete, and knowing you can accomplish anything.

Shane McNamara

What it means to be a part of BOB is that you show up every Wednesday ready for practice. In BOB you are encouraged to set goals and achieve them, such as: Finishing the West Island 5K, beating your past times for 5K’s, finishing Father’s Day 10K, or even beyond, running on your own doing races outside of BOB

Every year people set goals and achieve them and it is an amazing feeling to know you did something you never thought you could do.

In BOB it is more than just running, we learn lesson plans that teach us how to keep our bodies healthy and active.

Band of Brothers is an amazing family to be a part of, we have a great reputation around town because we are a group of responsible young men that compete with class.

Coaches are volunteers who give up their free time to help kids better themselves and help kids stay active.

Kids come to BOB because they want the best for themselves, they want to be healthy and they want to boost others’ self esteem.

Hunter Medeiros

My goal in BOB is to keep trying as hard as I can and keep pushing myself and try to help other kids if they are struggling, and if they say they can’t then I will try my best to motivate them to keep pushing himself to get better to try to do the 10K, the 5K or not.

But I will try my hardest to help the younger BOBs when they need help and if they say they can’t, I will say “you can” and just keep pushing yourself until you achieve your goal.

Mark Mills

Determination, leadership, and maturity are all traits you need to be a BOB, but what does it mean to be a BOB?

BOB is not just a jogging team. You’re a role model, you’re a symbol of your town.

BOB is not just a jogging team, it’s a Band of Brothers.

Click here to download the entire 6/15/17 issue: 06-15-17 OldStoneSchoolhouse