“For the back of the pack runners, I get tired of sitting on my stool so if I see someone struggling, I’ll maybe walk behind them and start playing, ‘You Are My Sunshine’ and they always seem to start running again because they want to get away from me.” “We typically play a chorus of a song because that’s the part that will energize a runner that far into a race,” Brown said.
Over the years, other musicians have joined in, including Cotruvo, a therapeutic musician, who played her folk harp.ĭuring their performances, they discovered a slight snag: Playing full songs was pointless, since the the runners would only catch a few seconds before the musical distraction faded back into the pain of the marathon. Then, when the elite runners started coming by, he returned to his post, and played for the next four or so hours until blisters formed and he got too tired. to catch the half marathoners for a few hours before retiring into Cotruvo’s for muffins and coffee. “I played with some local jazz musicians often, so I had them come out for the next few years.”Įvery year was the same.
“It became my lip marathon,” Brown told Runner’s World. So, for the next 20 years, he decided he’d do Grandma’s Marathon the only way his knees would let him.
He set up outside by the road, and as he played, his audience grew from a few party goers to the 10,000 runners going by Cotruvo’s house.Ī former runner himself, with marathon best time of 3:16, he reminisced in the rush of race-day excitement. His plan was to meet with members of his congregation and serenade them with his tuba tunes. Spectators Bust Out Electric Slide at NYC Marathonįriendly, community-oriented, and a bit quirky, Brown was what you expect from a Methodist minister in Minnesota.
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