Courtesy Photo / Manny Olivo
San Antonio special education teacher Manny Olivo first qualified for the Boston Marathon when he was 18 but couldn't afford the plane ticket.
A San Antonio special education teacher plans to fulfill his lifelong dream this Monday by completing the storied Boston Marathon.
Manny Olivo, who teaches at Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, first qualified to run in the world's oldest marathon when he was 18. However, travel expenses and college classes prevented him from participating all those years ago.
"I just didn't have the funds or money being in school and everything," Olivo said.
Olivo was first inspired to run the Boston Marathon by his high school track coach, who had run the race at least 12 times.
"I got back into running about seven or eight years ago for health reasons," Olivo said. "I was overweight and just didn't like the way I was looking, and I wasn't really happy with myself."
Although Olivo didn't get back into marathon shape until later in life, the Boston Marathon won't be his first 26.2-mile run. In the years since picking back up the sport, Olivo has run in the New York City, Tokyo and Berlin marathons.
It wasn't until he was approached by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), though, that he had a chance to run what he calls the "most prestigious marathon" in the world. The consulting firm launched a program in 2018 that helps pay for teachers to run marathons around the globe.
"They reached out and said, 'Hey, we want to hear your story if you're interested in running the Boston Marathon,'" Olivo said. "I was almost in tears when they told me I was going to run it."
However, it ended up being Olivo's story that surely brought TCS staff to tears.
Olivo works in a program at Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City that teaches young adults with special needs the life skills needed to transition into a more independent life. He wanted to teach special ed because he suffers from Poland syndrome, which left one of his hands deformed.
"For me growing up as a kid being bullied and being called names, I really can relate to the students that I have now," Olivo said. "They also have some type of disabilities, but you know, if you can get through life by pursuing what you want to do, you can do anything."
Olivo shipped up to Boston on last week and at press time began running the route from the sleepy New England village of Hopkinton to Beantown's Back Bay neighborhood, which he hopes to complete in about four hours.
Coming soon: SA Current Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting San Antonio stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
