MAY 5 • 2022 | 35

SPORTS

I

n his job, Shawn Achtman 
says, it’s important to practice 
what you preach.
Achtman is a physical medicine 
and rehabilitation physician in a 
private practice. He helps patients 
with physical issues manage those 
issues and be as active as possible.
Physical fitness is a core value 
of Achtman’s life. He lifts weights 
every day and plays basketball 
and golf competitively.
Running isn’t one of his phys-
ical fitness fortes. But that didn’t 
stop the 34-year-old Berkley resi-
dent from competing last month 
in the Boston Marathon, the 
world’s most famous and presti-
gious marathon.
“I was confident that I could 
qualify to run in the Boston 
Marathon because I’m in good 
shape,
” he said. “Of course, being 
a top runner is a whole different 
beast.
”
Achtman qualified for the 
Boston Marathon in October at 
the Detroit Free Press Marathon.
His time of two hours, 54 
minutes was six minutes under 
the three-hour Boston Marathon 
qualification time for the 18-34 
age group.
Achtman had run just one 
marathon previously, and that 
didn’t end well.
“I ran the Detroit marathon 
about 10 years earlier. I had to 
walk the last three miles because I 
was cramping,
” he said.
“
A buddy suggested last sum-
mer that I should run in the 
Detroit marathon. I decided to do 
it, but only if I had a goal: qualify 
for the Boston Marathon.
”
Achtman’s time April 18 in 

the 126th Boston Marathon was 
3:03.55.
“Disappointing,
” he said when 
asked about his time. “I wanted to 
at least beat the time I ran in the 
Detroit marathon.
”
So what caused his disappoint-
ment on the iconic 26.2-mile 
Boston Marathon course that 
stretches from Hopkinton to 
Copley Square?
“I was told not to go out too 
fast because the first 15-16 miles 
of the race are mostly downhill 
and the rest of the race is mostly 
uphill, but I did,
” he said. “I went 
from a 6:30 per mile pace to a 
7:01 per mile pace.
“
Also, I didn’t train as much as 
I did for the Detroit marathon. 
Running in Michigan during the 
winter is a challenge.
“I’
d say it was the lack of 
enough training more than any-

thing else that caused me to run 
Boston slower than Detroit.
”
Despite the disappointment 
about his time, Achtman said he’s 
happy he competed in the Boston 
Marathon.
A big reason is because he 
shared the experience with more 
than 28,000 other runners and 
hundreds of thousands of spec-
tators, including his wife, Jenny, 
their children Aden, 3, and 
Demi, 1, and his brother Ryan, 
who traveled from his home in 
Brooklyn, N.Y.
“The weather was great for 
the race. It was about 45 degrees 
with no clouds. My right arm and 
right shoulder got sun-burned,
” 
Achtman said.
“In the world of running, it’s a 
dream to compete in the Boston 
Marathon, and I did it.
”
That dream had been a night-

mare for runners since 2019, the 
last time the Boston Marathon 
was held on Patriots Day.
The COVID-19 pandemic 
caused the race to be canceled in 
2020, then delayed, canceled and 
delayed again until October last 
year, when a small, socially dis-
tanced field competed.
Each runner in the 2021 
Boston Marathon had to be vac-
cinated, tested and wear a mask 
when indoors.
Boston Marathon runners 
had to be vaccinated (or have an 
exemption) this year, but testing 
was optional and masks were 
mandatory only on the buses that 
took runners to the start of the 
race.
The 2021 race was the only 
time the Boston Marathon has 
ever been held in the fall.
Achtman said he’s thinking 
about trying to qualify again for 
the Boston Marathon. If he does 
qualify, he said, he’ll train longer 
and do less weightlifting before 
the race.
Before all that happens, the 
5-foot-8, 165-pounder is going to 
give CrossFit a try.
CrossFit is a rigorous workout 
and competition regimen of aer-
obic and body weight exercises, 
gymnastics and weightlifting. 

Please send sports news to 

stevestein502004@yahoo.com.

Berkley resident Shawn Achtman runs in the first 
spring Boston Marathon since 2019.
Marathon Man

STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Shawn Achtman enjoys a post-race moment at the Boston 
Marathon with his brother Ryan, wife, Jenny, and their 
children Demi and Aden.

 SHAWN ACHTMAN

 SHAWN ACHTMAN

Shawn Achtman is on 
the run at the Boston 
Marathon. 

