Athletics have always been
part of Larry Hirsch's life. He was a Golden Gloves Boxer as well as cross country
runner in high school and in college, where he attended Syracuse on a scholarship.
He returned to
running at age 30 and as it turned out, was faster than when he was younger. He
ran the Boston Marathon 8 times with his best time being 2:42. One year he beat
the 1st overall woman. He has run 24 marathons in total including Frankfort, Germany;
Maui; and Greece. Some notable finishes are:
-
Ocean State Marathon, 1st Master/3rd overall
- Cape
Cod Marathon, 1st Masters 3 years in a row
- East
Lyme Marathon, 3rd Masters/10th overall
- Israel
Half Marathon, 3rd age group
- Israel
10K, 2nd age group
- Key
West Half Marathon, 1st Senior 2 years (sneaks by Amby Burfoot)
- Blessing
of Fleet 10 mile, 1st Masters 3 years in a row
The
original name of the Elks race was the Larry Hirsch Race.
In
recent years Larry spends much time helping the Westerly-Chariho Animal Rescue
League and supports their annual biathlon, the Shoreline Biathlon. He has a passion
for the well-being of animals, especially cats. It seems appropriate that the
road in which the Westerly Animal Shelter resides is called "Larry Hirsch
Lane ".
He
was on the original Westerly Track Club's Board of Directors. It is safe to say,
that Larry's runner career puts him at the top of the runners in the area.
(written
by Buddy Grills (August 2006))
