Jason Ayr, left, competes in the 2015 Boston Marathon. (Submitted photo)
BOSTON – It may have been a cool, dreary day at the 119th running of the Boston Marathon, but one Westfield native stood out like a ray of sunshine as rain fell at the finish line.
Twenty-seven year-old Jason Ayr, a Westfield High graduate (2006) who currently resides in Medford, finished 37th overall in Monday’s 119th running of the Boston Marathon with a time of 2 hours, 25 minutes, and 14 seconds.
Ayr was the 34th male runner to cross the finish line. He placed 31st in his age group (18-39).
“Going into the first few miles,” Ayr said, “I was just fighting through the crowd … and my splits were up and down with the gusts of wind. I was able to pass people from mile eight to the finish (line).”
Ayr said that several of the runners ran in packs to cut down the impact of the wind and its effects on times.
“Everyone was packed together,” Ayr said. “If you got stuck alone, the wind would eat you up for a mile.”
Ethiopian Lelisa Desisa (2:09:17) reclaimed the title he won in 2013, the year of the Marathon bombings.
Ayr has made considerable strides over the last two years since running in the event that year, clipping more than two minutes off his time and jumping 18 spots in a field of some 30,000 runners. He has also participated in the Chicago Marathon, and several local events over the course of the last several years, including the annual Run Westfield Flat Fast 5k road race.
Ayr plans to train and compete with runners from his team, the Western Mass Distance Project, during the next several months before a planned trip to Berlin, Germany where he will attempt to complete his goal of qualifying for the U.S. Olympic time trials.
