The Celtics’ play-by-play man is running the Boston Marathon to benefit the Shamrock Foundation.
By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe
3 minutes to read
Drew Carter was about to embark on one of the great traditions in Boston sports when the inspiration struck him to participate in another.
Carter, the Celtics’ play-by-play voice on NBC Sports Boston, is running the Boston Marathon to benefit the Shamrock Foundation, a Celtics program designed to support children in need.
The idea came to him, he said, while he was getting ready to board the duck boats at TD Garden for the Celtics’ championship parade in June.
“We were on the floor level of the Garden about to head out for the parade,” said Carter, “and I told my friend Dave Hoffman [the Celtics’ senior vice president of community engagement who oversees the Shamrock Foundation], ‘Hey, I think it’d be pretty cool to run it. We could raise some money and I think it’d be great.’
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“Next thing I know, I’m talking to Amelia McQuade and Ari Williams from the Shamrock Foundation and they’re sending me emails and I’m doing it.
“Once I was all signed up,” he says with a quick laugh, “then it was, ‘All right, you either train and raise some money or you’re going to be in trouble on April 21st.’ ”
Carter ran cross-country in high school when some training runs were near the length of a half marathon, and he has knocked out 15- and 20-mile runs during training that began in December, but this marathon will be his first.
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“I mean, everyone says make Boston your first marathon. It’s so easy, it’s the most straightforward one,” he deadpans. “I’ve got to be one of the first morons to make Boston their first marathon.”
Carter’s self-deprecating approach doesn’t entirely mask the preparation he has put in to be ready. He’s done his homework on all of the landmarks and storied stretches along the marathon route — he said colleague Trenni Casey recently filled him in on the Wellesley “scream tunnel” — and has trained diligently even as the frequent travel for Celtics games can add complications.
“Probably the trickiest things are dealing with the weather and then just not knowing really where I’m going when we’re on the road,” he says. “That has made it challenging. The good side is it’s a great way to explore these cities. I would say Portland is now one of my favorite NBA cities because I did a 13-mile run there just around the river, like crossing the bridges and exploring. So that’s a benefit.”
Occasionally, he’ll run into a familiar face or two when he’s getting his miles in.
“When I was running on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, it was drizzling rain. I didn’t know where the sweat ended and the rain began.
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“All of a sudden, I’m running by a few people from the Celtics traveling party, including Joe Mazzulla and his wife [Camai]. When I ran by them, I definitely cranked up the pace a little bit more.
“Do you remember [in 2023], someone asked him how many miles he could run? How long would he make it in the marathon? And he said, ‘I probably would just run until I die.’ I think subconsciously, maybe I’m just doing this to try to earn the respect of Joe.”
Carter’s marathon journey may have taken its first steps in the moments before the Celtics parade, but he acknowledges that, like many first-time Boston Marathon runners, some of his inspiration came from being in the city during Patriots’ Day and realizing how unique and special that vibe is.
Last year, the Minnesota native’s first as a Celtics broadcaster, he watched some of the marathon from near the finish line and saw how it is such an important part of the city’s fabric.
“I just thought it was the coolest scene ever. It was just awesome to be around the finish line and see everybody come through and feel the energy and the support. It felt like the whole city was there.
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“It felt like the most Boston experience possible, and you could say the same about a championship parade and the duck boats,” said Carter, whose team is called Green Runs Deep.
“This just feels like the perfect way for me to use my platform as the Celtics announcer and my background as a runner to do some good and have a lot of fun and get to be a part of that fabric and one of the truly special things about Boston.”
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