Portrait of a Brotherhood:
How Andrew McAllister and Ross Ormond are Leaving their Mark on Marathoning
By Brent Terry
This is not a paint-by-numbers kind of story. The colors are too vivid and intoxicating, the themes too big, the perspective too fine, the landscapes too ever-shifting, to be just a fill-in-the-blanks kind of exercise. No-sirree, Bob, this here is an action painting: a full-on Jackson Pollock, hurl-pigment-at-the-canvas, lactate-burn level experience. And even if it were a paint-by-number kind of story, this beauty would still be hanging on the fourth floor at MOMA, making art history students cry. But what the heck, as long as we’re here, let’s look for a moment at some of the numbers that add up to Andrew McAllister and Ross Ormond’s globetrotting, marathon-racing, Six Star work of art:
Tens of thousands of miles run in training. Not to mention millions of steps!
Dozens (at least) of race officials, equipment manufacturing representatives, travel professionals of all stripes. These are the folks behind the scenes, the men and women who make sure the bodies and equipment arrive on time and in one piece (more on that later) to marathon staring lines in cities around the world.
Also, dozens of friends and training partners who make the training miles a fun and less lonely experience. We all treasure these folks, right? Someone has to eat all that pizza, drink all that beer!
Thirteen years. Our heroes have known one another a long time.
Six mythic marathons scattered across three continents. Chicago, New York City, London, Berlin, Boston, Tokyo: to runners, these are the names of marathons first, cities second. The names of the races that make up the Abbott Marathon Majors are spoken in hushed tones, their very pavement hallowed ground.
Four extra super-important family members. Like oxygen, these people are everywhere!
Two very special men, who on race days, move together as
One.
A Little Bible Study, a Little Rock and Roll
There was a bond, a kinship, before they even began training and racing together.
“We met in a men’s Bible study in 2012 through a mutual friend of ours,” recalls Andrew on our first Zoom call, “The Bible study was pretty large, about thirty, but as the years went on, it got smaller, finally down to about five of us, and we would meet in my home. I live in a high-rise condo complex, and we’d meet in the conference room. Ross always sat to my right,” Andrew remembers. “We did that for a couple of years. Anyway, I’d always known that he was into all these fun outdoor activities. I remember one time him saying he had run a race in the mud, or something, and that sounded like so much fun, because I’m not able to do physical things” (Andrew has Cerebral Palsy and was recently diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome.)
“Even though I can’t run, or swim very well, I’m always interested in other people’s fun physical activities.” Even now, almost fourteen years into their friendship, Andrew’s voice quivers with excitement.
“I’m always excited for others. I sort of live vicariously through others and their athletic pursuits, and always had been. I’ve always been a big sports fan. And Ross knew I was genuinely interested, because I’d always ask him about his latest race or whatnot.”
Andrew didn’t know it at the time, but his own athletic experiences were about to become a whole lot less vicarious.
“Then, one time he asked me if I might want to run in the Rock and Roll Marathon. He said, ‘I could push you in the Rock and Roll.”
Even now, he seems a bit taken aback by the suggestion.
“I said, ‘Let me think about it,’ because my first internal reaction was, ‘I don’t really want to get up that early to train with him. So, I was going to say no, but then I realized the spirit of what he wanted to accomplish. He was trying to give me something I’d never had, which was a feeling of competition in that way.”
Here, Ross jumps in.
“I remember it like it was yesterday, making that ask of him. So, we ran the San Antonio Rock and Roll with some friends who were also runners. Back then,” Ross said, “there was not a division, and to this day, to the best of my knowledge, the Rock and Roll series does not have a duo or adaptive athlete division, so we kind of showed up to the start, pulled in and hoped for the best.”
They ran 4:09. “Commendable,” Ross says with a shrug, sounding maybe not one-hundred percent convinced, even now. The competitive nature he and Andrew share was showing through, and not for the last time.
“And so, the next year,” Ross continues, “I said, ‘Let’s do it again,” the lilt in his voice taking us all back to that moment.
That year, 2018, they improved their time to 3:49. In 2019 they ran 3:45.
“After 2019,” he recalls, “I was like, ‘I’m really liking this running thing. That was like my seventh or eighth marathon. So, I thought, ‘I’m going to try and get us into the Chicago Marathon and the New York City Marathon, because Chicago is one of Andrew’s favorite cities, and New York has always been special to me. So, we put in for Chicago and get in for 2020. A month later we found out we got into NYC for 2020.”
Given the number of people who enter the lottery for spots in these races, gaining entry into both is an astonishing piece of luck.
“So,” Ross continues, “we’re moving along, training well, and of course, we all know what happens in 2020, so unfortunately, we did not get to run.”
They deferred their entries until 2021, but a non-Covid medical issue forced them to push back their Chicago/New York double-header until 2022.
Trucking through That Toddling Town
“First World Major,” Ross continues, easily conveying the excitement of the moment. “First time under the big light; 40,000 runners: the energy…. We got to go off after the first wave and we had just an amazing day. We enjoyed every mile. We talked the entire time!”
He catches his breath for a moment. “We ended up running 3:21 for second in the duo division, pretty exciting! So afterward, I asked Andrew how he was feeling. He said great, then asked me the same thing. He said, ‘It’s a good thing, because we have New York in three weeks.”
On the screen both of them are grinning big, wicked grins.
Start Spreading the News…
“…and we do a pre-race meal.” Andrew jumps first into their New York experience. “We were eating, and I said, ‘So this is a major?’ I don’t know anything about running, nothing, and, ‘How many are there?’ He said six. And I said, ‘Has there ever been a duo team run all six majors before?”
Andrew the instigator is in ‘da house!
“He said, ‘No because they don’t allow them.’”
On the screen, Andrew waves that notion off, continues, “And I said, ‘Why don’t we try to become the first one,’ The wicked smile is back. “When you give Ross a little nugget to do something, he runs with it. Pun intended.”
Little did Andrew know, but London plans were already in the works. But first there’s a matter of biting off the five boroughs of The Big Apple.
Says Ross, “We’re on the bus to the start in Staten Island, and on the bus is another duo team, and they are talking about being the first team to do all six majors. Andrew and I were just sitting back there. We didn’t say a word.”
On the screen, Andrew and Ross were both wearing what I’ve come to call their “gunslinger look.” Oh my. The bus deposited them at the New York Road Runners’ magnificently-managed staging area, from where they were escorted onto the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and to the head of the main field.
Says Ross, “It was so cool, so emotional. I couldn’t help it, I just lost it. They’re playing Sinatra, and I’m, like, (mimes wiping tears from his eyes.) And I’m. like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve got to run!”
Run they did, winning the duo division in 3:43
A Jaunt Across the Pond
Spring 2023 took the pair to London, which they entered into with lifetime best fitness and high hopes. Steady rain and bottlenecks out on the course dashed all hopes of a fast time, but three hours and change after leaving Greenwich, they arrived at the finish in Central London, and a third Abbott Marathon Major is in the books. From here the months fly by, like an old movie with spinning calendar pages, a new marathon always on the horizon. Oh, and Tokyo, Marathon Major number six, weighs in with a hard “no.”
Kipchoge and Me at The Brandenburg Gate, and Busted-down in Beantown
If its September, we must be in Berlin! Berlin brings a fast course, fall weather and an organization that hums like a new Mercedes. New PR? But of course! The best part though is becoming a pacesetter and sounding-board for duo teams following in your footsteps. Oh, and having your picture on the wall at the Brandenburg Gate next to that of Olympic champion and world-record holder, Eliud Kipchoge. Not too shabby.
Seven months later, Patriot’s Day, 2024, and it’s back stateside for the grandaddy of them all, The Boston Marathon, where Andrew and Ross will be representing Team Hoyt, founded by the most famous and beloved duo in marathoning, the late Dick and Rick Hoyt of Massachusetts. Andrew and Ross had the fabled Boston Athletic Association and Team Hoyt rooting for them, a big crew of family and friends in attendance, and a secret weapon: a new, feather-light and fast racing chair. Excitement and emotions were at an all-time high. But when Ross went to pick up the chair at baggage claim, he knew something was wrong. The bag carrying the chair was unzipped and the chair showed visible scratches. Further inspection revealed a spaghetti box of bent tubes and broken components.
“The chair,” says Ross, “was totaled.”
Ross texted Andrew, told him to call as soon as he and his parents landed.
“I knew it wasn’t good,” says Andrew.
Ross was devastated. It looked like their World Marathon Majors journey had been derailed, at least for now. But by the time Andrew arrived things were much different. The B.A.A. and Hoyt Racing Chairs had sprung into action. There were two racing chairs on hand for such emergencies at the company’s plant in Dudley, MA. If Ross and Andrew could make it to Dudley, Hoyt would fit them for the chair, and they’d be good to go. Tears of anguish turned to tears of joy, and the next day Ross and Andrew, joined by Ross’ wife Whitney and son Hughes, plus, Andrew’s parents, David and Cecile, were in the hands of a man with a plan.
“Mike DiDonato is the gentleman who helped us at Hoyt Running Chairs,” says Ross, “He was there with John, the guy who actually does ALL the welding. And Mike's son was there too.”
Everyone at Hoyt dropped everything to help. Many tears were shed.
“Summing up our Boston experience is really hard to put into words. It truly was one amazing moment after another...well, after we got the racing chair disaster handled. From Russ Hoyt taking us in as family, to the divine intervention that placed Mike DiDonato at Hoyt Running Chairs in our lives, the joy of honoring Dick and Rick Hoyt as the honorary duo team for Team Hoyt at the Boston 5K, and capping it off with the absolute thrill of running our first (hopefully not last) Boston Marathon...there's just nothing like it. Having friends and family there to cheer us on also added to the magic of the weekend. Simply put, it was magical for all the right reasons. We truly got to see what TEAM and FAMILY is all about and everyone who has been there with us along our journey is considered to be BOTH - TEAM and FAMILY.”
‘Nuff said.
Oh, and that “hard no” from Tokyo? Well, two years of both charm, hard trans-Pacific work, and oh yeah, the dreaded “gunslinger look,” means Andrew and Ross will find themselves at the starting line in Tokyo on March 2nd, for a special trial for duo teams. Whitney and David will be on hand with all-access passes to take care of last-minute logistics (and probably hugs.) All the numbers that make up Ross and Andrew’s amazing story are too big to add up. But the picture they paint is a masterpiece.
