What can one accomplish in a 5 mile run?
Sure, we can listen to part of a Fleetwood Mac playlist (RIP, Christine McVie) or, for festival listeners, have some holiday tunes ringing in the head for the rest of the day.
For Bill Murphy of Grafton, audiobooks and personal development podcasts travel the streets through his earbuds. And on his journey, the mortgage officer’s mind moves in a more productive way.
“I never liked running,” said Murphy, a Worcester native who played outside linebacker at North High before attending Worcester State (bachelor’s) and Framingham State (master’s). “Why I like it now is having something like a runner’s height. … I get incredible ideas. Much of this book was written as ideas flowed to me from my scores.
His effective points led to the production of the recently published self-help book, “Thrive Through the Storm: Nine Principles to Help You Overcome Adversity” (Skyhorse Publishing, New York). Released in October, the book has appeared on the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller lists.
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“Adversity can take many forms — a breakup, the loss of a loved one or a frustrating day at the office,” Murphy said recently from his office in Auburn. “We’re trying to see how we can get out of those adversities as quickly as possible and get on the road to a prosperous mindset.”
A veteran of five Boston Marathons, two Ironman Triathlons and one ultramarathon, Murphy describes in his book how he took on life’s challenges with admirable positivity and offers exercises on how to overcome adversity.
Often, Murphy records his thoughts on his iPhone while running, then plays them back after his run and records them in a journal. Other times, he jots down any thoughts he has while on the road, often up to three times a week.
“During my workouts, I would have great ideas come flooding in,” Murphy recalled of his youth in the weight room. “Then when I get into the running, the ideas will flourish.”
The running bug hit Murphy in late 2007, when talking with friends, the topic of running the Boston Marathon came up. He wasn’t even running yet when this brilliant idea crossed his mind, but it wasn’t long before he was hitting the road, ramping up training for Boston the following spring.
Murphy contacted the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which had participated in earlier fundraising efforts, about joining its Boston Marathon charity team. He followed Dana-Farber’s application procedure and was accepted. He ran the 2008 and ’09 Boston Marathons for Dana-Farber.
In 2011, Murphy passed the milestone with his Boston personal best – 3 hours, 59 minutes, 20 seconds, 40 seconds to spare.
Around 2013, Murphy began journaling after his scores. After running his first Ironman in 2019, thoughts of writing a book arose.
“That was the year I realized we were capable of more than we thought,” said Murphy, who wrote her book after collecting her journals over a 10-month period. “I did Boston that year, and I completely neglected my nutrition while running. I crashed, my legs got stuck at mile 15, and I was pretty upset with myself.
“I really thought about how someone would do an Ironman when they finish a marathon after a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride. “That’s where mental toughness comes in, so I decided to do it, and when I did that Ironman after six months of training, I’d say people are capable of a lot more than we think.”
Murphy’s buoyant mindset was never more evident than in 2021, when he was training for the return of the Boston Marathon, after COVID disrupted the event for a year and a half. That August, 60 days before the fall game, Murphy tore his left quad, but was hell-bent on attending the event he was raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“I decided I wanted to do it on crutches … well, BAA said no,” he recalled. “But they still had a virtual ride, so it was okay to get another spot, and Worcester State allowed me to use the track. Make-A-Wish was really instrumental in setting it up.
With a good crowd in hand, Murphy finished among the world’s fastest on crutches in 6 hours and 17 minutes.
“It’s very hard to stay positive all the time, but when you can stay positive no matter what happens, that’s where the magic happens,” he said. “You have to have a vision, what are the opportunities. The leg thing, I raised more money than I had and raised a lot of awareness for a great cause. Children with terminal illnesses do not have a choice about what they face. ”
Murphy, who is on the board of directors for Make-A-Wish, provides a scholarship to Worcester County and recently founded the nonprofit Thrive Foundation. He knows no bounds when it comes to raising money for charity by running or otherwise.
“It’s a game changer, it’s legacy building,” said Murphy, who has helped raise more than $500,000 for his charity Make-A-Wish for his past three Boston Marathons. “You can make a difference to others. I want to give back.”
Next May, son Cameron, 22, and daughter Aidan, 19, plan to join him in running the Providence Marathon, which will likely benefit Make-A-Wish. Younger daughter Ella is a junior at Shepherd Hill Regional.
Murphy follows up with his third Ironman two weeks later at Ocean State in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Most of all have a positive attitude.
“A thriving mindset is about achieving whatever adversity comes your way in life,” Murphy said. “Instead of getting down and out because that would be such an easy excuse, let’s hope to realize and get out of our adversities as soon as we can.”
—Contact John Conceison at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @ConceisonJohn.
