For Rockville Centre resident Matthew Nolan, running the Boston Marathon was about more than crossing the finish line of one of the world’s most prestigious races. It also became an opportunity to support mental health awareness and advocacy.
Nolan, 42, completed his first Boston Marathon last month while representing the Mental Health Collaborative, raising nearly $13,000 for the organization along the way.
Although Nolan originally qualified for the 2020 Boston Marathon based on his 2019 race time, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented him from participating during the traditional Patriots’ Day race in April. Organizers later rescheduled the event for the fall, but Nolan opted not to run then, instead hoping to eventually experience Boston in its traditional spring setting.
Over the following years, marathon running took a back seat as Nolan and his wife, Wesley, welcomed their second child, Lucille. After returning to distance running and completing the New York City Marathon last fall, Nolan decided to pursue Boston once again.
Because he had missed the qualification window through time standards, Nolan applied to several charity teams before connecting with the Mental Health Collaborative, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit focused on mental health education and awareness.
“Matt was incredibly passionate about our mission from the very beginning,” Abbie Rosenberg, Founder & CEO of Mental Health Collaborative said. “His positivity, energy, and commitment to helping others were contagious. He truly embodied the values of resilience, community and well-being, and was an outstanding advocate for mental health awareness both on and off the marathon course.”
The connection carried additional significance because the organization recently partnered with South Side High School to host a Mental Health Essentials presentation for coaches, physical education teachers and health staff. The workshop focused on recognizing signs of mental health challenges in student-athletes, reducing stigma surrounding mental illness and helping educators identify when students may need additional support.
Representing the Mental Health Collaborative held special meaning for Nolan, who said he was drawn to the organization’s mission of encouraging people to seek support and reducing stigma around mental health treatment.
“We’re at this place where it feels like we’re talking about mental health too much, and that it’s being used as a crutch or a weakness to not address real challenges and issues that we all face,” Nolan said. “To me, it was just very poignant and very timely to get to represent an organization that just wants people to understand that we need to keep fighting the stigma.”
As part of his commitment to the team, Nolan originally set a fundraising goal of $10,000 but ultimately surpassed it, raising nearly $13,000.
Nolan completed the marathon in approximately 3 hours and 12 minutes, improving his time from the New York City Marathon by roughly 20 minutes. He trained throughout one of the harshest winters in recent memory, often completing long outdoor runs in freezing temperatures and snowy conditions while preparing for Boston’s challenging hills.
The marathon also became a family event, with relatives, friends, clients and colleagues cheering Nolan along the course. His son, Eli, celebrated his seventh birthday just days before the race, and family members traveled to Boston to support him.
“You feel like you’re doing this not only for yourself and your own goals and achievements and desires but also knowing that you have people that also want to see you succeed,” Nolan said.
Already looking ahead, Nolan is preparing for another marathon this August in upstate New York, where he hopes to achieve a faster qualifying time and earn entry into the 2027 Boston Marathon through standard race qualification.
“I use marathons as what I look forward to in life,” Nolan said. “And I think everybody needs that. When you don’t have that, you can feel a little bit lost and not knowing how to organize your life and how to set yourself up so that you’re always looking forward to something. When you don’t have something to look forward to, we can get a little stagnant, and it’s just very important to have that.”
