Westerly Sun Column | ‘Tarzan’ An Inspiration to Local Runners

As you may already be aware, the town of Westerly has an impressive history related to running, particularly for being the birthplace of two-time Boston Marathon winner Ellison Brown — better known as “Tarzan Brown.” While I’ve known about Tarzan for quite some time, I was excited to come across a lengthy article in the most recent copy of “Runners World” magazine all about the life and legacy of Tarzan Brown.

For those who are unfamiliar, Brown was born in 1913, and was a direct descendent of the Narragansett Indian tribe. While he earned the nickname “Tarzan” due to his propensity for climbing trees and swinging from branches, he also displayed natural running ability at an early age; in fact, his Narragansett tribal name was “Deerfoot.” In 1936, at the age of 22, Brown won his first Boston Marathon, surprising many by overtaking the leader (John Kelley) on one of the hills near the end of the course. A journalist later referred to this hill as “Heartbreak Hill” — due to it being the place where Brown broke Kelley’s heart — a moniker that has stuck around ever since. Three years later, Brown won the Boston Marathon again, setting a new course record of 2:28:51 while he was at it.

While Tarzan Brown’s successes have immortalized him in history, his life was unfortunately one of many highs and lows, which ended in tragedy in August of 1975. You can read more about him in the biography “Ellison ‘Tarzan’ Brown: the Narragansett Indian who twice won the Boston Marathon” by Michael Ward. There is also a stone memorial in Wilcox Park that was originally erected in the 1980s, but was updated a couple of years ago by Brown’s grandson, a master stone mason. I encourage you to stop next time you are in the park, and pay your respects to this hometown hero!

As a runner myself, I’ve found Tarzan Brown particularly interesting. For instance, I love that he had a tendency, in races, to go all-out early on, sprinting ahead of the pack and later slowing down or even stopping to rest once his lead was established. Basically, Tarzan did things his own way. There’s sometimes a misconception that running should look a certain way, and it’s just not true. You don’t have to be fast to be a runner, you don’t have to run nonstop, you don’t have to be young, or slim, or wearing $200 running shoes, or whatever other preconceived notions are out there. If you run, at whatever speed, and for however long, you are a runner.

If YOU want to be a runner, check out the library’s Couch to 5k Run Club, which is about to start up for its fifth year. For 8 weeks, we’ll meet on Mondays for weekly group runs, in which we follow the “C25K” method of alternating walking and running to build stamina and endurance. We’ll even make a point to stop by Brown’s memorial as we loop around the park! You can find more details on our website at www.westerlylibrary.org.

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian