Participating in the 2014 Boston Marathon will be 63 visually impaired runners, the most the in the race’s history. To help make sure they, their guides, their family and friends are properly carbed up for the annual 26.2-mile race, one Newton resident will be hosting all of them for a pasta dinner on Saturday, April 19.
Rosalind Wright was grocery shopping in Newton just prior to last year’s Boston Marathon when she noticed blind marathoners, decked out in running gear, picking up prepared food from the store. They were members of the charitable squad Team With A Vision, a group who runs the Boston Marathon to raise money for the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Feeling hospitable, Wright came to the conclusion that in order to be a standup citizen, she ought to invite them into her home and cook on their behalf.
“I overheard them talking about staying at the Carroll School,” Wright said, “and I felt that, as a resident of the area, we should be offering them some hospitality, so I resolved that I would volunteer to cook them a dinner before the Marathon this year.”
In the wake of the subsequent Boston Marathon bombings, Wright immediately realized that hosting more visually impaired participants this year would be the honorable thing to do.
For this year’s pasta dinner, she, along with family and friends, will be cooking dinner and enjoying the company of over 100 blind participants, their guides and family members. Last year’s number of guests numbered merely a handful, including MABVI escort Josh Warren.
“There were only a handful of runners in Whole Foods last year but when I got in touch with Josh and he explained there would be about a hundred people to feed this year, we knew we needed help,” continued Wright. “I talked with my friend Marianne Jacobbi, who is a fabulous Italian cook, and she also wanted to be a part of this.”
They’ll be noshing on several different kinds of pasta, along with salad, bread and desserts.
“Most of these runners are a long way from home, and travel a long way to run Boston,” Wright added. “A nice, warm meal is the perfect way to say they’re welcome here.”
Donations can be made to Team With A Vision on their website here.
