Projo Running Blog

One running parent shares his lasting memory of R.I. running great Bobby Doyle:

The death of Bobby Doyle, the greatest long distance runner in Rhode Island history, has left all of us who knew him and loved him, shattered. Not because he was a great athlete, a great coach, a great trainer and a great spokesman for the sport, but because he had the biggest heart in the sport.

Earlier this year, we were at the Manhattan College Cross Country Invitational in New York. With a mile to go in the race, my son, Tommy who runs for Bishop Hendricken, fell down a hill. He managed to get up, and although he was bloodied and battered, finished the race, collapsing at the end. Bobby Doyle was among the hundreds at the crowded finish line. He and his son, Brian pushed their way through the crowd, literally carrying Tommy to the medic’s tent, yelling at officials to get out of the way. “You can’t teach ‘guts’, “he told me shortly afterwards.

When we heard that he had died, Tommy wept as he told me that story again and said that he loved Bobby. Tommy is not alone. We all loved Bobby Doyle, not just because of what he taught us about running; but because of what he taught us about life.

- George Thomas McLaughlin

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