From P.R. To Personal Best: How A Cat Changed A Boston Runner's Course

CHICAGO — Sarah Bohan toed the starting line of the Chicago Marathon last weekend with a very specific plan in place. But by the time she finished the 26.2-mile course, her mission had changed dramatically but brought perhaps more joy and satisfaction than any personal record ever could.

Bohan, a 26-year-old social worker at Boston Children’s Hospital, officially finished her second marathon in 3 hours, 31 minutes, and 35 seconds. But after maintaining a pace that would allow the longtime runner to beat her previous best marathon time of 3 hours and 12 minutes and quality for next year’s Boston Marathon for a second time, the cat-lover in Bohan took priority over the competitive runner in a way she never expected.

Running as part of PAWS Chicago’s marathon team, Bohan — along with fellow runner Gia Nigro — are credited for rescuing a furry white kitten that Bohan first encountered at the 20-mile mark of her marathon run last weekend. Running along a bike path on the left side of the course, Bohan said she spotted the stray kitten and, putting her goal of a P.R. to the side, stopped to pick the kitten up before finding the feline a new home just a mile later.

“It’s a very quick pivot when I decided to be that person to turn around to care for that cat,” Bohan told Patch in a telephone interview on Wednesday night. “That was the most impulsive decision I could have made during that race, but I knew that this was my job now. This was what my race was going to look like, and I can’t feel guilty about that.

“My focus just changed and to be honest, I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Bohan, who completed her first marathon at Sugarloaf (Maine) in May, attempted to be part of the Chicago Marathon Field in 2022. But when she was not selected for the lottery to get in, she turned her attention to this year and joined PAWS Chicago as a charitable partner, which gained her entry into this year’s field.

Bohan, who has two rescue cats of her own at home, felt drawn to PAWS Chicago’s mission immediately, but never expected that her love of animals would ever play a role in how she finished last weekend.

Having come back from an IT Band injury following her first marathon, Bohan felt confident in her ability to beat her previous best in Chicago. Based on the flat nature of the Chicago course and ideal running conditions with temperatures in the 50s, Bohan figured she could finish in under 3 hours, and 10 minutes.

Bohan cruised through the race’s first 14 miles. But she then felt her knee began to flare up. Having run since age 10 and having run competitively in high school and college, Bohan knew her race patterns and realized that given where she was on the course and the pain she was feeling, Bohan figured her pace would slow while she stretched out her muscles in an attempt to finish what she started.

She figured once the pain subsided, she would find a way to finish strong and make a push for the finish line while still keeping her goal of besting her P.R. intact. That’s when, at mile 20, everything changed.

“Then, I see this cat,” Bohan said. “And I knew everything was going out the window.”

Bohan says her physical therapist had warned her that if she stopped and began walking, she would essentially undo all of the rehab work she had done on her knee. If she sat down and squatted, it would have the same result.

But almost instinctually, Bohan stopped and squatted down and picked up the kitten by the nape of its neck. Having dealt with rescues before, Bohan knew that picking up the frightened kitten the way she did would prevent the kitten from squirming out of her grasp.

As soon as she stopped, though, Bohan said she felt a pop in her knee, essentially ending her quest for a personal best finish and a second qualifying time for Boston. Her race, she said – at least competitively – was over for all intents and purposes.

“You don’t really think about a lot when you’re on Mile 21 of a race,” Bohan said. “Your vision is going, everything is going out the window. And so, at that point, I just impulsively picked up this cat and then it just set in – ‘What did I just do?’

“But now, this was my responsibility and now, I have his obligation to this tiny, little kitten.”

Bohan picked up the kitten and began to walk, knowing that she didn’t want to frighten the kitten anymore by picking up her pace. That’s when Nigro also decided to sacrifice her finishing time and joined Bohan in the mission to find the kitten a new home.

The two runners walked for nearly a mile asking people along the course to temporarily care for the kitten so they could finish their race. The walk continued before the pair finally found a bystander who said she would be willing to take the cat in. The two runners, who had not previously met, decided to walk-run the final four miles of the course, establishing a bond that Bohan said comes from the shared experience of finishing a marathon.

Nigro, who herself was on her pace for a strong marathon finish, joined Bohan in the attempt to find a safe space for the kitten – an experience that Bohan still has trouble putting into words.

“It’s this primal experience where you’re in pain, you’re struggling and you’re looking for other people for help in so many different capacities,” Bohan said.

“We kind of put our minds together in that way (of finding the kitten a home), knowing we’re both exhausted, knowing (Nigro) had her own personal goals and it was just a bonding experience. …You become friends with these people who experience such unique moments together.”

PAWS Chicago Chief Executive Officer Susanna Wickham said that in all the organization’s years of sponsoring a marathon team and collecting donations because of runners’ efforts, she has never seen anything quite like this.

“For us, people who love animals, it seeps into every part of your life,” Wickham told Patch. “And here’s one that none of us anticipated. But it’s just true to the heart of exactly why we have nearly 500 people running for PAWS and why all of us who work here.

“When you love animals, you see them everywhere you look …and so this was a completely unexpected encounter and one we would have never even imagined, it just makes perfect sense for who we are as an organization and who Sarah is.”

The two runners crossed the finish line together after assisting another runner whose legs had given out near the finish and who needed assistance reaching the end of the marathon. Again, her instincts took over and she walked over to the struggling marathoner and draped her arm around her while Nigro did the same on the other side.

The runner, competing in her first marathon, later connected with Bohan and Nigo on Instagram and thanked them, admitting she would have never finished the race had it not been for their random act of kindness.

As she neared the finish, Bohan said she took out her headphones and soaked up a Chicago Marathon environment. Although her goal of posting a personal best time was long gone, Bohan said and Nigro found a way to find new meaning in their own races after not only rescuing the stray cat but finding the kitten a new home.

Wickham said that PAWS has already connected with the women who offered to take the cat and is now working with them to provide them with all of the care that the kitten needs going forward. Through a social media interaction, Wickham says PAWS was able to connect the dots and take the necessary steps to ensure that the kitten will be cared for.

Bohan’s sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed. After raising $1,750 for PAWS Chicago ahead of the marathon, Bohan has seen donations to the Chicago animal shelter surpass $3,000 since Sunday’s race.

Bohan has already committed to running the Chicago Marathon in 2024 and will again represent PAWS Chicago. The local shelter, which has fielded a marathon team for 18 years now, is committed to raising awareness for its mission through the 483 runners who carried the cause with them for 26.2 miles in last weekend’s marathon.

While it wasn’t the race result she expected, Bohan continues to relish her first Chicago Marathon experience in ways she never saw coming. Although she plans to return to Chicago next fall after she makes her first run at the Boston Marathon in the spring, Bohan says she is left with an impression she won't soon forget.

“You can have a P.R. and it can be the most amazing experience, but what I just experienced authentically and surprisingly enough, I wouldn’t change that,” Bohan said. “I think that was my personal best and I wouldn’t change that for the world.”