Haley Chinarian will be one of the youngest runners in the Boston Marathon. She will also get to run the historic race next to her father.
During the waning miles of the 2017 Phoenix Marathon — their first together — Andrew Chinarian and his daughter Haley, then 16 years old, actually began playing slugbug to pass the time.
Usually played while riding in a car, the object of the game is to be the first player to spot a particular color of subcompact automobile, yell «slugbug» and gently but firmly tap their opponent on the shoulder. The Chinarians chose yellow and Andrew was the first to see one.
He followed the rules, but perhaps a little too well, according to Haley.
«I actually started to struggle about 17 miles in, but was feeling strong again at 22 miles when we started playing that,» she said. «I was having some hip trouble in training and when dad hit me on the shoulder, I thought I felt my hip move a little. I was angry for a few seconds, but it gave me the energy to take off.»
Haley, now a Walled Lake Central senior, surged ahead of her father and finished her marathon debut in 3 hours, 21 minutes and 1 second, placing 55th of 878 female finishers and 252nd overall.
More importantly, she finished well under the 2018 Boston Marathon qualifying standard of 3:35 for women in the 18-34 age group, fulfilling a dream she harbored since watching her father run Boston for the first time in 2013.
Andrew followed 30 seconds later, meeting the 3:30 qualifying standard for the men’s 50-54 division with ease.
«We had slowed the pace a little when Haley felt uncomfortable and played slug as a diversion, but then I tapped her shoulder after seeing the yellow car and the next thing I know, she’s leaving me behind. It was pretty cool to see Haley crush the qualifying standard. We were so excited knowing we would be running Boston together.»
Father and daughter were forced to wait for more than a year for that special moment due to the Boston Marathon’s minimum age requirement of 18.
They continued to train together and ran two more marathons together after Andrew finished last year’s Boston Marathon — his third.
The waiting ends Monday when Haley, who just turned 18 on Wednesday, will be one of the youngest competitors in the 122nd running of the world’s oldest annual marathon.
«I’m really looking forward to being at the starting line of such a famous race with my dad because it’s been such an amazing experience to train together and get to this point,» Haley said. «It’s hard to say what I’m most excited about because I am just looking forward to the entire experience, really. I want to enjoy it all and hopefully finish in a decent time.»
Just finishing the race at her age will put Haley in rare company. In fact, she would be the first 18-year-old female from Michigan to do so since at least 2000 and the first of either gender since 2014.
Overall, only 25 of this year’s 30,000 entrants are 18-year-old women and an average of just nine per year have finished the race since 2001.
«I’ve wanted to be a part of the Boston Marathon after seeing how thrilling it was for dad to run it for the first time, but I finally asked him about it early in my sophomore year of high school,» Haley said. «He was very supportive from the beginning and thought Phoenix would be the perfect place and time to qualify. It also gave us a chance to see my brother (Jacob) at Arizona State.»
Andrew was not surprised by his daughter’s interest in the marathon.
«I was actually expecting to have that conversation with her at some point,» he said. «Haley has always been a great runner and it’s easy to see how much she loves it. I feel fortunate she enjoys running so much and we’re able to that together.»
Andrew, 52, who has run almost continuously since his middle school track days, became hooked on the 26.2-mile distance after finishing his first marathon (Detroit Free Press International) in 2010.
Last year’s Boston Marathon finish was his best as he crossed the line 9,396th of more than 26,000 finishers in 3:38:47. Andrew followed that with a personal best of 3:17:29 at the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City less than two months later.
For obvious reasons, however, this year’s Boston Marathon will be the highlight of his running career.
«Boston is unlike any other race and to share that experience with Haley for the first time will be incredible,» Andrew said. «I can’t wait for her to be a part of things like the bus ride to the starting line, running by all the landmarks, the amazing crowds, coming into Boston and making the turn to the finish line. She’ll never forget it.»
Haley will also not soon forgot the long Sunday training runs, some reaching 20 miles, she shares with her dad. Routes vary, but most take the pair around lakes, through parks and along both busy and quiet streets near their Wolverine Lake home.
«We run at a pace that allows us to talk about random things going on in our lives,» Haley said. «We never know where the conversation will go, but no matter how busy we might both be, it’s nice to know we’ll have that time together.»
Remarkably, training for four marathons — she also ran Bayshore last year and Phoenix again this year — in the past 14 months has not prevented Haley from also having a record-setting high school track and cross country career.
She holds Walled Lake Central’s 3,200-meter run record (11:28.22) and last fall broke the school’s 19-year-old record for the 5-kilometer cross country distance with a time of 19:11. Haley also qualified for the Division 1 state cross country meet as a junior, finishing 20th in a field of 244.
She began training for her first marathon the following day.
«There was a little concern when I talked to my high school coach (Andrew Teberian) about doing marathons, but I’m fortunate he’s been willing to work with me,» Haley said. «My teammates are really excited for me and supportive. They just wish they could be with me at Boston.»
Teberian was confident Haley could handle the workload.
«Haley is the complete package with her approach to running as far as training, nutrition and rest, so anyone who knows Haley is not surprised she qualified for Boston,» he said. «Haley has sacrificed a lot to do both marathons and high school track and cross country at a high level.
