Smithfield's Roupen Bastajian Taking On Boston Marathon April 15

Smithfield's Roupen Bastajian will join about 27,000 sneaker and spandex-clad runners trekking the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon April 15 at about 10 a.m.

Many runners, elite and amateur alike, spend months training for the annual grueling 116-year-old footrace. Bastajian, a RI State Trooper and U.S. Marine veteran, not so much. "I kind of just suck it up and go out and get it done," said the 35-year-old Greenville resident. His last training run was a 12-miler a few weeks ago.

Bastajian, a Smithfield resident since 1995, has been a runner pretty much from the time he joined the Marines at 18. He first started running in the Boston Marathon 10 years ago. His best time was his first year — 3:40:00. The last time he ran the Boston Marathon was two years ago, when he finished with a 4:05:00.

This year, he said, his goal is to finish between 3-4 hours.  

The course from suburban Hopkinton's Main Street to Boston offers physical challenges, including heartbreak hill, the legendarily taxing incline near the finish, and an earlier cheering section past a crowd comprised of Wellesley College girls known as The Scream Tunnel. Bastajian, a married man with three kids, takes that part in stride. "I just kind of enjoy that part by running by it," he said.   

If you've got the day off and you're interested in watching the Boston Marathon kickoff in Hopkinton, MA, you'll have to get an early start - roads close there at 7 a.m. on Marathon Monday. Check the BAA's spectator page for more information on watching the Marathon in person.

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