Zdeno Chara may have hung up his skates, but he hasn’t slowed down a whit.
The legendary Boston Bruin and former Capital continued his post-retirement running career at the Boston Marathon on Monday, completing the race in 3:30:52 to beat his time of 3:38:23 from 2023 by more than seven minutes.
Chara’s dedication to endurance running has proven far more than a one-off publicity stunt. Since retiring in fall of 2022, Chara has now run seven marathons in the span of a year. He’ll repeat the feat in less than a week when he takes part in the 2024 London Marathon on Sunday.
For the second year in a row, Chara donned bib #3333 — in honor of his no. 33 — as Boston faithful cheered him on along the 26.2-mile course. Spectators were easily able to spot the six-foot-nine Chara, who towered over his competitors.
Hey there @zeechara33! 👋 pic.twitter.com/Ep0l1OJ7Ek
— PWHL Boston (@PWHL_Boston) April 15, 2024
Chara spent 14 of his 24 NHL seasons with the Bruins, where he won the Norris Trophy in 2009 and captained the team to the 2011 Stanley Cup. After playing alongside him for more than a decade, longtime teammate Brad Marchand wasn’t surprised when Chara decided to pick up endurance running in retirement.
“You knew he was going to find something that was really competitive, very hard — something that takes a lot of training, something he can improve upon,” Marchand said after the Bruins’ morning skate on Monday. “He’s just a beast. He likes the challenge, and with his mindset and the way that he’s prepared for so long every single day, he was going to have to find something to continue to do that, so it’s great for him.
“Happy to see him happy and enjoying something after hockey. He dedicated so much time and effort to the game, it’s great that he has another passion that he’s enjoying in retirement, so it’s good for him.”
That doesn’t mean Marchand will be joining him anytime soon, though.
“No. I don’t understand the whole running thing,” he said. “I get five minutes of a run and call it quits. It’s not for me.”
The annual race has become a cultural touchstone in the city of Boston, particularly since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Watching the race from afar during his time as a Bruin piqued Chara’s interest in running one himself.
“I always watched it on TV. It looked really cool and amazing,” he told the MetroWest Daily News. “I was always wondering if I could run a marathon myself. So, yeah, I paid attention a lot.”
After announcing his retirement at the start of last season, Chara had no plans of kicking up his feet. He trained for just three months before debuting at the 2023 Boston Marathon and has hopes of competing in all six World Marathon Major races. Since that first race, he has shaved 28 minutes off his personal best, completing the Houston Marathon in 3:10:24 in January.
“I don’t get the impression that he goes out for a jog,” race director Dave McGillivray told the Boston Globe. “When he goes out, he is literally working out. It’s real intense and real serious.”
Running a 3:30 marathon after less than two years of training is an impressive achievement at any age, let alone doing so at age 47 after a storied NHL career. Congratulations, Zee!
