Canton mom to run marathon for Team MR8

Martin Richard was 8 years old when he was killed in the Boston Marathon bombing last April. The young victim loved sports and was known as a peacemaker at his school. A photo of Martin holding a sign he made that said “No more hurting people – peace” went viral — allowing millions of people around the world to learn about the kindhearted Boston native.

Martin Richard

Martin’s family created the Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation in January to honor the memory of their son and brother, and to carry on his legacy by raising money to support his focus on peace through education, athletics and community. The first fundraiser is Team MR8 (Martin Richard age 8), a team of 72 people who will run in the 2014 Boston Marathon.

Jo Lysko of Canton is one of the 72 runners of Team MR8. She and her husband, Scott, are the parents of three children, daughters Jordan, 11, and Tyler, 6, and son, Alex, 8, all of whom attend St. John the Evangelist School. Alex plays baseball in the same league as Martin’s team, and the players wore arm patches in honor of Martin last season. Lysko was in the stands for the games, and as her son and other youngsters ran out onto the field, she had the same thought.

“I always thought of the Richard family,” she said. “They don’t have that.”

Those feelings pushed Lysko to be one of 250 people who filled out the 11-page application for Team MR8. After two interviews, she was notified of her selection. She now works on training for the marathon and raising funds for the foundation’s mission.

Lysko ran a marathon in 2001. She exercises regularly and jogs in nice weather, and she now follows a regular schedule of running. “It’s a huge challenge,” she said. “It’s the one thing you can do to fight back after last year’s senseless tragedy. This team has inspired me.”

Lysko runs three days a week in Canton and on Saturdays joins Team MR8 for a group run. On March 1, MR8 ran in the CharityTeams Superhero 17 Run, which covered the last 17 miles of the Boston Marathon route, from Natick to Copley Square. That morning, Lysko sat on the bus, dressed as Spider-Man, watching the scenery go by and wondering how she would find the energy to run to where she had parked her car in Boston. When the group arrived in Natick and got off the bus, Bill and Denise Richard and their surviving children, Henry and Jane, greeted them with bagels and hand warmers.

“They’re humble and gracious,” Lysko said of meeting Martin’s family. “That was the motivation that got me back to Boston.”

Jo Lysko (far left) with fellow runners at the CharityTeams Superhero 17 Run

That same motivation helped get her out the door one morning during the winter when the temperature was only seven degrees. Lysko was walking through her kitchen when she looked at the three stools where her children have breakfast every morning.

“I don’t know how you go from three to two,” she said. “It really changed my perspective.”

The members of MR8 have agreed to raise $7,500 to help the Martin W. Richard Foundation reach their goals. Lysko explained that Martin’s family plans to direct donations to the creation of peacemaker programs in schools, to retrofitting playgrounds (Martin’s sister, Jane, has a prosthetic leg), and for scholarship awards for good sportsmanship. Lysko wants to raise $20,000 instead of $7,500. As of last week, she had raised $12,000.

Lysko said that being a member of MR8 has changed who she is. “My family never met Martin,” she said, “but he’s part of our lives.”

To make a donation to MR8, go to www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/JoLysko/team-mr8-boston-marathon-2014.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Mar 13 2014. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.