ISANTI, Minn. (OSV News) - When Deacon Vincent Charles is on a training run and meets a car, instead of waving a greeting, he now offers them the Sign of the Cross.
"It's forehead-to-belly, not a little one," he said. "While I was running a few weeks ago, something - like the Holy Spirit - told me to do this, to spark in their mind that Christ is important. It's become a regular practice for me to share that sign of God's love. I think it's going to grow in others."
Deacon Vince, of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Isanti, has a unique reason to be training - on April 21, he'll run in the 129th Boston Marathon. Wearing race bib No. 24830 and in the age category of 65-69, he'll start off at 10:50 a.m., in the third wave of runners and the eighth corral. Professional athletes and para-athletes begin earlier.
He'll wear a blue T-shirt he designed, another way to honor his spiritual and family roots.
"In front I placed pictures of a cross and of my dad and me on a turkey hunt, with the words, ‘I run for my Father,'" he told The Central Minnesota Catholic, magazine of the St. Cloud Diocese. "On the back is a statue of Mary in Medjugorje, and below that is me with Mom holding roses on Mother's Day. It says, ‘I run for my Mother.' Two other important people in my life who recently passed are each on a sleeve - my sister Sandy and Ryan, a close friend of my son."
Along the race route, Deacon Vince will be praying for 300 people from his parishes who have passed the last 10 years. When he preached a couple weeks ago, he asked for prayer intentions and received many. To pray and run hands-free, he's recorded the names, intentions, and healing rosaries and novenas. His wife, Karen, as well as daughter Cassie, son Nick and grandson Jeremy are among those who'll cheer him on in Boston - they'll use copies of that tape to add their prayers.
"I'm proud to still be able to do this in my age range. But I'm short with short legs - those tall guys with long legs take two strides to my five," Deacon Vince said.
"Just being at the Boston Marathon will be emotional, so at the start I'll be nervous, but that will settle out," he added. "I know about the challenging downhills and the six miles of tough uphills toward the end - they're going to hurt, and I will offer that suffering up. My first goal is to finish, because I'm competitive and want to do my best, with a personal goal of finishing under four hours."
This is his 11th marathon, having earned the right to compete in the Boston Marathon with a qualifying time of 3:57 - making the cut by eight minutes. He'd previously qualified for the Boston Marathon, which is a 26.2-mile race, but wasn't able to compete, once due to additional cuts in timing, once due to COVID.
Deacon Vince started running long distances in 2013, at age 53. "Running was a good way to heal after my dad died," he said. "We were close and it was hard to let him go. I decided to run a marathon in his honor which helped me get through this difficult time."
Acknowledging that he wouldn't be here without the Lord, or his parents, he competed in his second a year later, in his mother's honor, finishing in 3:39. But marathons were becoming something bigger than just races - they were becoming spiritual experiences.
For a Twin Cities Marathon, he'd worn a shirt honoring his cousin Michael, who had cancer.
"That race was a struggle because I had torn ligaments and ran in a hard boot -- and it was raining. About halfway through, I slowed down and started walking. But people encouraged me with, ‘You've got this, Mike,' thinking I was that person on my shirt. It was powerful -- almost brought me to tears. And I finished at 4:41."
Over time, he realized he felt drawn to serve as a deacon - and was ordained in November of 2021. His mother was able to attend but died last year.
That the 2025 Boston Marathon occurs on Easter Monday isn't ideal for a deacon. Although he's sent his credentials to a priest there, it may not work out to assist at a parish. Either way he's looking forward to spending Easter with family in that area that he doesn't often connect with.
Deacon Vince's focus won't only be on the Boston Marathon. "Part of me wants to share that I'm Catholic and evangelize in some way. I'm hoping for good encounters from a spiritual standpoint - those unexpected connections, blessing other people along the way. The shirt will help with that - it connects people to the faith. It will draw comments. And that keeps our attention on God.
"The Lord is allowing me to do this and I'm grateful. Because running is not about me, I'll maybe not worry about the time but turn it over to enjoying the experience itself."
Caption: Deacon Vince Charles takes a break after a run near St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Isanti, Minn., April 4, 2025. The deacon will run in the Boston Marathon on April 21. (OSV News photo/Dianne Towalski, The Central Minnesota Catholic)
