When it came time to apply to the Boston Marathon this year, as soon as Johanna Lamoureux saw Special Olympics Massachusetts she knew THAT was the team she needed to be a part of.

From a very young age Johanna has been enamored by running and being a part of a team. Though she started running track in high school because her brother did, she looks back on her childhood and sees now that her uncle’s involvement in Special Olympics may have very well played a part in her love of the sport.

“Seeing him earn medals and just enjoy the sense of team, that played a big part of my running in high school,” Johanna said. “And as an adult I have been running more and more and I have been inspired by the life he lived and how he achieved. You should have seen the amount of medals that he had!”

Johanna’s uncle, James W. Hamilton was a Special Olympics athlete who competed in track in the 80s and 90s. James attended the Fernald School in Waltham, which has since been shut down for various reasons. Johanna credits Special Olympics as being some of her uncle’s happiest times of his life.  

“He was at Fernald, which was not the best living conditions,” Johanna said. “So, I really feel like Special Olympics gave him an outlet and a space that he could enjoy life. It was a really positive experience and influence for him.”

Many of Johanna’s memories of her uncle involve Special Olympics. She and her family were very close, and they would all go over to his track events to watch him compete and she remembers how excited he would be. ‘Uncle Jimmy’ would even come home afterwards and show off his medals and share stories about the meet.  

James passed away in 2004, but the memories that Johanna has of him will stay with her forever and motivate her as she takes on 26.2 miles in her uncle’s memory on Monday.  

Throughout Johanna’s training and fundraising for the Xtra Mile team, she has felt her uncle’s presence along the way.  

James loved the snow and Johanna remembers as she was growing up, whenever there was a snowstorm coming, her uncle would call the house and say, ‘It’s S-N-O-W and I’m sending it to you!” Even with the mild winter New England had this year, when it came time for Johanna’s big fundraising party, there of course was a snowstorm.

“My entire family feels like he is still here with us and he’s a part of this with me,” Johanna said. “He would be proud. He just loved running events so much and being part of Special Olympics and part of a team.”

Team is and always has been important to Johanna and running for Special Olympics, a team that gave so much to her uncle, is really special.

“A marathon is tough,” Johanna said. “So it’s nice to know there is a group of us out there, we all have the same purpose and we’ve got each other’s backs.”