One of the biggest events on the local sports calendar will take place this Sunday, October 26, with the 35th running of the Mayor’s Cup Race.

This cross-country race was founded in 1990 and had just 9 participants. Track Coach Bill Squiers’ vision was to bring back cross country racing back to Boston’s iconic Franklin Park Today the event has over 1,000 runners from across the globe in all age groups. The youth races will award medals to the top 3 finishers in each division and to the 3 scoring members of the top 3 teams.

That bodes well for the Boston Lions Track Club who will try to improve from last year’s competition. Coached by Tomorrow Peeples-Taylor, who won the Mayor’s Cup Race in the mid-1980s and whose brother, Damion, finished first in 1999, has assembled a group of young runners who have made national headlines and brought positive attention to the local area. Tomorrow People’s: “As an organization, we have grown our name brand on the national level. We gained a lot of attention following our showing at last year’s Mayor’s Cup Race and our performances in national competitions”.

Sisters Solo and Legacy Lewis, along with Trinity Franklyn, have become ‘Names to be watched for’ on the national scene. They are very hard workers and tough competitors who deserve the praises that come their way. Going into this year’s Mayor’s Cup competition, Solo, Legacy, and Trinity will be out to improve on their work from last year. Eight-year-old Legacy Lewis, who won the eight-and-under competition the previous year at the age of 7, and older sister Solo, winner in the 9-and-10 division, look to add to their running resumes this time around. At the same time, Trinity Franklin, who finished 2nd to Solo Lewis, has improved to the point that she will present a tough challenge for anyone she comes up against since last year’s Mayor’s Cup Race. Legacy and Trinity have become All-Americans, with Trinity also being named a Junior Olympian. “Sponsorship has picked up since people have gotten to know more about our program, thanks to coverage from the Banner and other media outlets. We are also grateful to people like Kevin Hayden (Suffolk County District Attorney), and several corporate entities like the B.A.A. (Boston Athletic Association), and A.L.K.U. Foundations that have stepped up to provide financial support to keep our program moving forward. While the City of Boston and other sponsors have stepped up to help, a special thanks goes out to the company’ Good Sports’ for providing equipment (running shoes, etc.) that will be a great boost to our team as we go to New York for a 2-event major competition on November 29. My team is very excited and prepared to meet the competition in New York, but for now, we are gearing up for the Mayor’s Cup Race. We have great fans who will be cheering us on as we try to surpass our results from last year. When I won this race so many years ago, I knew the pride that I felt. I see that same pride in every member of this current Boston Lions team. It is so important that young people have a chance to see just how good they can be. We will continue to develop the character in our runners that will inspire them to be dignified champions.” The Boston Lions Track Club lives on the motto: “I got you. You’ve got me. And we’ve got us.”

And the City of Boston has a top-flight track club, named the Boston Lions, to be proud of.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Contact Tomorrow Peeples-Taylor at [email protected]