Inspiring Couple Among Tinley Runners In 2018 Boston Marathon

The 122nd running of the Boston Marathon will be Monday, April 16, and runners from across the globe flock to be tested by the 26.2-mile course from the Hopkinton start line to the famous Boylston Street finish line. That includes four Tinley Park residents who are no strangers to long-distance running.

In Boston, Patriots Day has become to take on a larger meaning as one of the great days of sport and human triumph. That's why it's fitting that one of the Tinley entries is an inspiring married couple, Jamie and Lynn Parks.

The two have been running for nearly 27 years after Lynn suffered a severe brain injury following a car accident. Since July 1991, the Parkses have competed in hundreds of events — including the Chicago and Boston marathons — with Jamie pushing Lynn in her wheelchair. Later, the couple's daughter, Annalyn, has even joined them, first sitting on her mother's lap, and then running with them in the home stretch and across the finish line in the 2008 Boston Marathon.

Over the years, the couple was featured on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," and the 2008 documentary "Marathon Love" depicted their life running together. Jamie and Lynn also got to carry the torch through Chicago en route to the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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In 2017, the couple ran 1,680 miles, the most they ever tallied in a single year, Jamie revealed in a Jan. 1 Twitter post. On his own, Jamie racked up 1,905 miles, his second-largest annual total since he began keeping track. As of Jan. 1, 2018, he has run 9,469 consecutive days, compiling 42,694.83 miles in that time. Together, the couple has run 27,518 miles between July 11, 1991, and Jan. 1, 2018.

"People say, 'Just imagine how much faster you’d be if you ran without pushing Lynn'," Jamie states on the couple's website. "You know what, I don’t even want to know. We’re a team. We’re going to be a team racing together until God decides I’m not going to run anymore."

Go to Jamie Parks' Twitter feed for nearly daily updates of his running. And go to the Parks' website to learn more about the couple.

The Parks aren't the only running veterans with Tinley Park connections competing in Monday's marathon. MJ Moore was the Tinley resident with the best time in the 2016 Chicago Marathon, finishing the event with a time of 02:49:22. Jimmy Steyskal and Maureen Spinler both ran in last year's Boston Marathon. Steyskal posted a time of 04:34:15, and Spinler had a time of 04:15:57

The following breakdown gives details for all four Tinley Park residents in the 2018 Boston Marathon.

Men

• MJ Moore, 29 (#1363, Wave 1)
• Jimmy Steyskal, 62 (#18164, Wave 3)
• Jamie Parks, 56 (#18215, Wave 3)

Women

Maureen Spinler, 56 (#21749, Wave 3)

Different athletes start at different times. Here are the start times for each group:

• Mobility Impaired: 7:40 a.m.
• Men's Push-Rim Wheelchair: 8:02 a.m.
• Women's Push-Rim Wheelchair: 8:04 a.m.
• Handcycles and Duos: 8:25 a.m.
• Elite Women: 8:32 a.m.
• Elite Men and Wave One: 9 a.m.
• Wave Two: 9:25 a.m.
• Wave Three: 9:50 a.m.
• Wave Four: 10:15 a.m.

Want to keep tabs? Click here to find out how to track a runner.

If you want to find how to watch the Boston Marathon on TV or live stream, or get any other information about the race, check out our Boston Marathon Hub here.

Jamie and Lynn Parks run with their daughter, Annalyn, during the final stretch of the 2008 Boston Marathon (Photo via Jamie Parks | Patch archive)