‘It’s the dream.’ - Five student-athlete alums participate in Boston Marathon

Courtesy of Casey McAuliffe

By Sophia Oppedisano

Editor-in-Chief

After graduation, student-athletes often talk about “NARP life” - the worry of becoming a Non-Athletic Regular Person after leaving their sport, daily training, and grueling schedules behind. 

After they lose that regimen, they’re left to ponder: what’s next?

For five Framingham State student-athlete alumni, they certainly don’t have to wonder.

Jake Hartshorn, Casey McAuliffe, Kaitlin Loughlin, Bella Kondi, and Sarah Burke all participated in this year’s Boston Marathon, and, for a few of them, this marathon was one of a few or the start of a running journey. 

Hartshorn, Class of ’23, was a goalkeeper for the men’s soccer team. He ranks seventh on the all-time career goalkeeping leaders’ list with a record of 19-16-2. He averaged only 1.76 goals per game. 

This was Hartshorn’s first Boston Marathon, but his second marathon in just seven months. He ran his first, the Baystate Marathon in Lowell, in October. 

Hartshorn works as a police officer in Chelmsford and ran his first Boston Marathon for Cops for Kids with Cancer, an organization that helps save families from eviction and pay down overwhelming bills.

He raised $10,000, and his team raised just under half a million dollars for the organization.

After running his first marathon in October, Hartshorn said the training for Boston was “tough.”

He said his winter training included lots of running on ice and salt and brutal stretches of harsh weather. 

“It was tough on the body, but I got through it, and it was definitely all worth it. In the end, it was about 16 weeks of prep,” Hartshorn added.

His time as a student-athlete at Framingham State instilled in him “a drive, discipline, and passion” that helped him pursue his goal of training for and running Boston. He finished in 4:08.

Hartshorn’s favorite part of the day was “having 26 miles of packed sidewalks and people screaming the whole time and asking for high fives. It was honestly surreal, and the atmosphere - I've just never felt anything like it,” he said.

Now that he has Boston under his belt, Hartshorn is looking to run all of the World Marathon Majors. “It’s an ambitious goal. … I’ll just take it one race at a time and see how far this running journey goes,” he said.

Casey McAuliffe, also a member of the Class of ’23 and a fellow police officer serving in North Reading, was also out on the course. 

McAuliffe played basketball for four years and helped the Rams win two MASCAC Championships in her freshman and junior years. In her senior year, McAuliffe joined the women’s track and field team and won the MASCAC title in the 10k race, earning her a spot on the MASCAC All-Conference team. 

The Boston Marathon was McAuliffe’s first marathon, and she ran for the Boston Police Foundation, an organization that invests in special equipment, advanced training, new technology, officer safety and wellness, and youth outreach programs. 

McAuliffe also raised $10,000. 

To have Boston be her first marathon was “the dream,” McAuliffe said. She knew she wanted to run for a charity that meant something to her, but raising the money and getting to run on a course that is so familiar “made it even better,” she added. 

McAuliffe started training in November and said the process was “definitely a journey” because of the weather. “At times, I felt like it was a part-time job, but the day made it worth it. I look back, and I think, ‘Oh, that wasn't really that bad! I could do it again,’ but during the training block, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is brutal.’”

Even though the training was difficult, McAuliffe said it’s a completely “natural” feeling to work toward a difficult goal. Growing up as a student-athlete helped McAuliffe feel like going out for runs was just like going to practice. 

“Growing up an athlete, you definitely have an advantage while you’re training for something like a marathon just because your mind has been there before,” she said. 

McAuliffe said running past Framingham State students and through the Wellesley Scream Tunnel helped keep her going on the course, and “seeing my family at the finish line, my friends, and my boyfriend made it all worth it.” 

She ran through the finish line in 3:55 - a stellar finish time for her first marathon. “It was just so emotional. I cried, I swear to God, probably seven times,” she said with a laugh.

“​​I would do it 1,000 times again if I had the opportunity. … I have chills still talking about it, just because that's how powerful the day was. There was never a lull in the crowd. People were lined up from the start line to the finish line, and everyone was screaming your name. It was just crazy,” McAuliffe said. 

Also out on the course were three former Framingham State field hockey teammates: Kaitlin Loughlin, Bella Kondi, and Sarah Burke - a three-time Boston runner who was there to cheer them on.

Loughlin, Class of ’24, played field hockey beginning in her sophomore year through her graduate year in 2025 and now works in Framingham as a special education teacher.

She ran the Chicago Marathon for her first marathon in October with Kondi and ran the Boston Marathon for the Town of Ashland, where she grew up. She raised $3,000.

After training for Chicago, Loughlin said her training block felt “much easier because I knew what to expect this time around.”

She said her time as a student-athlete prepared her for this kind of activity every day, and her old field hockey schedule is still ingrained in her.

Making the final turn onto Boylston Street and seeing the finish line made Loughlin realize she “finally made it,” and it was her favorite part of the day. 

After spending her life watching the marathon in Ashland and then from the mile 6 mark in Framingham, Loughlin said it was amazing to see family, friends, and teammates along the route. 

Kondi, Class of ’23, played field hockey during her undergraduate career and coached alongside Allie Lucenta while completing her master’s degree in Fall 2024. 

Kondi ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list for the Rams with 19 career goals. She also set two assist records in 2023. 

She has moved on to coach at Sweet Briar College and just recently accepted the head field hockey coach position at Castleton University. 

In October, Kondi ran the Chicago Marathon with Loughlin, but she didn’t have plans to run Boston until Supporting Outreach & Addiction Recovery (SOAR) Natick reached out and asked if Kondi wanted to raise money for a bib. 

SOAR, founded by Lucenta’s mom, helps with forgiveness for those affected by opioid substance abuse. “It's an awesome charity that fundraises to help support families that are affected. They sponsor kids' proms and different sorts of scholarships for high school seniors. And then, for anybody who is affected and is struggling, they're able to help with their funds,” Kondi said. 

Kondi raised $4,500 for the organization, and said she was “honored” to represent SOAR. 

Training for Boston was preferable to training for Chicago, Kondi said. “I love running in the winter. … At this point, cold doesn't phase me, and I actually look forward to running outside when there's snow on the ground, which is such a strange thing to say now that I'm like a regular person who chooses to do that,” she added with a laugh. 

She began training on New Year’s Day and had only 120 days to strength train and run three to four times a week. Kondi said her time as a student-athlete gave her the ability to understand what she is physically capable of and how to push those limits. 

When she made the pivot to marathon training, she said being aware of the hardships her body had faced while she was playing field hockey made things easier.

“For me, especially for Boston, it was just like, I'm training to run for something bigger than myself and for a community that has essentially shaped exactly who I am as a person today,” she said.

She said she had someone she knew cheering for her in every town along the route, and while she was training, all of her old teammates reached out to support her. “You feel so alone sometimes in those training blocks, but from my time as a student-athlete to now, those people are still involved in my life, even if I don't talk to them every day.”

The best part of the day was seeing her family on the course in Natick and seeing the Citgo sign. 

“I knew that it was time. I just immediately started crying. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so real,’” she said. “From then on out, I was just like, breezing through like I hadn't run the previous mileage. And I mean, taking a left down onto Boylston, that's so real. The crowd is everything.” 

Kondi finished in 5:10 and, now that it’s been a few days, she said she’s ready to consider running Boston again. 

Burke, Class of ’22, is a three-time Boston runner, but took this year off to support former teammates Kondi and Loughlin, and those who ran for the Ellie Fund for Breast Cancer. 

The Ellie Fund provides services to breast cancer patients who either live in Massachusetts or are receiving care in Massachusetts. They provide non-medical support through child care reimbursement, grocery and gas gift cards, and housekeeping services completely free of charge. 

Burke is a preschool teacher in Braintree, but has just accepted a full-time position with the Ellie Fund. 

She ran her first Boston Marathon when she was a senior at Framingham State for Boston Children’s Hospital and raised $11,000 for a little boy who attended the preschool she works at and passed from brain cancer. 

Then, in 2024 and 2025, Burke ran in memory of her mom, who passed away from breast cancer, and raised a combined $46,000 for the Ellie Fund. 

Burke said she took this year off so someone else could experience the marathon. “We get over 100 applications for people wanting to run for us. … Once I said no to running officially, I got invited to be a part of our Boston Marathon committee team. So I actually got to look through the applications and help pick our team, which I thought was really cool and special.”

She watched the marathon in Wellesley right at the end of Heartbreak Hill. Burke and her Ellie Fund team brought the energy with music and screamed, danced, and cheered runners on through the last seven miles of their journey.

“I was thinking about when I first ran and running past the Framingham point with all my friends there when I was a senior. There was music, and that's what keeps the runner going, in my perspective. So I was so grateful to be a spectator that day,” she said.

While Burke unfortunately missed Loughlin on the course, she got to see Kondi, who ran over for a hug. “I was like, ‘Bella, you can do it! You can do it!’ she said. 

Burke said she has been “fully inspired” to run her fourth Boston Marathon next year.