If there is one thing that Delmace Mayo has proven since becoming a para-athlete, anything is possible. With his mind, his physical strength and his racing wheelchair, Mayo has made a name for himself not just on a state and regional level, but from coast-to-coast with a number of national titles and records to his credit.
Competing alongside some of the top athletes globally this past Monday, the Jamaica Plains standout added the Boston Marathon to his endless list of momentous accomplishments. Mayo finished the historic race in 2 hours, 4 minutes, 30 seconds.
Speaking from his home on Tuesday, Mayo described the feeling of crossing the finish line at Copley Square as “a very electrifying experience.”
“It was amazing,” he added. “But right after you finish from being in the same position (for two-plus hours), it’s also tiring. I got out of my chair and couldn’t feel me legs at all.”
Mayo was 21st overall in the 26-racer field. Turning age 19 on April 17, just four days before the race, he was also the youngest to answer the gun on Patriots Day. Among the throngs of people that cheered on Mayo during race day was his mom.
“I’m so impressed and proud of him,” said Cathy Mayo, who adopted Delmace from Haiti at the age of 3. “I was worried that he hadn’t trained enough and didn’t fully understand how long the race was. But he was always confident, he could do it. He told me it would be fine because he knew he could do it. His determination never ceases to amaze me.”
The idea of attempting the grueling 26.2-mile distance at Boston didn’t come on a whim for Delmace Mayo. It’s been a goal of his for a while.
“Actually since high school I wanted to do the marathon,” he said. “When I was 16 and turning 17 (in 2023), I wanted to do it. When I looked it up, I saw you had to be 18. Last year the race was two days before my birthday, so I couldn’t do it again.”
While this was his debut to the marathon, Mayo is a veteran a seven half marathons, achieving an all-time best of 1:05.30 from the 2022 Eversource Hartford Half Marathon. He’s done three half marathons on the historic Boston course, completing in the BAA Boston Half Marathon where he has a PR of 1:06.30 from the Nov. 10 race this past fall.
Mayo admits he doesn’t really had consistent workout schedule each week. Over the last few months, the weather also hasn’t exactly cooperated.
“The weekdays and weekends were very rainy. I didn’t really get to go outside that much,” he said. “When I did, I tried to push as much as possible. I have stationery rollers but I don’t like to use those that much. I usually go to the gym instead. I usually do triceps, bench presses, stuff like that. I didn’t really have any set mileage each week. I just go out there and do as much as I can for the day. It all depends on how I feel that day.”
Like most at Boston, Mayo took advantage of the mostly downhill portion of the course for the first third of the race. He covered the opening 5K in 10:20, a 3:26 per mile place. He averaged around 4:30 pace for the next 10-plus miles.
“The first hill, that counts for everything,” he said. “I was able to get up to 50 miles per hour. That set the tone for the race. I was like, ‘Okay, I can do this.’ Once I started slowing down, wheelchair racers, what we have is this tough position like bikers, when we start slowing down then we put on our gloves on to keep pushing. When you feel the chair moving faster than you can push, you take your hands off and let the chair do whatever. When I felt I could be pushing with the speed of the wheels, I put my gloves on and realized I was pushing a lot faster than I ever pushed before.”
Mayo went through the half-marathon checkpoint in Wellesley in 56.37, a best for the 13.1-mile distance by nearly nine minutes. Upon approaching the Newton Hills between miles 17 and 21, Mayo developed a slight problem before approaching the most difficult part of the course.
“I started to form a blister on my hand,” he said. “For a good half mile, I pushed with one hand so I didn’t irritate the blister. That gave me some trouble.”
Mayo covered the last 5.2 miles to the finish in 25:45 to add his name to the history of the Boston Marathon.
***
There was no rest for the wicked. Just four days after his race, Mayo was in track mode. Competing at the MSTCA Invacational in North Andover, the inspirational senior clocked times of 9:27.50 for the two mile and 2:04.18 for the 800m.
One of his goals this season is to break the four-minute barrier for the mile. This past indoor season, he established a new PR for the distance by winning his third straight title at the New Balance Nationals with a time of 4:10.54.
