Severna Park Native Aims To “Dream Big” At The Boston Marathon

Since its inception in 1897, the Boston Marathon has been one of the most internationally renowned road races, with runners from all over the world striving for spots to compete. Over 30,000 athletes will make their way to the Northeast on April 21 to embark on the 26.2-mile race that begins in the town of Hopkinton and ends in Boston’s Copley Square.

The Boston Marathon also includes a charity component that enables select nonprofit organizations to recruit athletes who pledge to raise funds for their cause. This year, 176 nonprofits were selected, and Arnold resident and physical therapist Gabby Driscoll is gearing up to raise funds and run for the 2025 Dream Big! Boston Marathon team.

A 2012 graduate of Severna Park High School, Driscoll attended Rutgers University, where she played soccer and met her husband. Driscoll has had the desire to run in the Boston Marathon ever since she ran in the Rutgers half marathon during her senior year of college.

 “One of my best friends and former teammates from Rutgers, Hayley Katkowski - we told ourselves after we ran the Rutgers half marathon that we would do the Boston Marathon one day,” Driscoll recalled. “My husband and I lived in Massachusetts for a short stint after college, and Hayley is from the greater Boston area. It is a well-loved and well-respected marathon. But it was this promise that we made almost 10 years ago that has fueled us to finally approach this goal now.”

Regarding running the Rutgers half marathon, her longest race to date, Driscoll remembered, “That was an eye-opening experience (especially knowing what an appropriate training schedule is now), and my first real exposure to long-distance running.”

Dream Big! is a nonprofit headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts. As of the end of February, its 15-member marathon team had raised over $125,000.

“Dream Big! is a wonderful organization that empowers young girls from under-resourced communities by providing scholarships, mentorship, and opportunities in sports and physical activity,” Driscoll explained. “Their mission is to help these girls achieve their dreams through sport. Having played soccer most of my life, as well as being a female, this is the charity I resonated the most with.”

She added, “The way you run a marathon is one of two ways. You can either qualify for time, or you can get on a charity team. Because I didn’t qualify for time, I applied through Dream Big! to be on their Boston Marathon team. Both my friend Hayley and I were accepted. This comes with a mandatory goal of each individual raising $10,000. So, there’s a lot to do between sticking with the running schedule and raising funds for this cause.”

Running the Boston Marathon comes with some benefits for Dream Big! team members. “By being on a charity team, we are set up with a marathon coach who hosts weekly Zoom calls and is available for any and all questions,” Driscoll said.

“It's amazing with the amount of athletes he works with, that he gets back to me sometimes within a few hours with any questions I have. The charity group is called ‘The Marathon Coalition,’” Driscoll said of her coach, Rick Muhr.

Having suffered several injuries in the past — including a torn ACL, MCL and PCL, all ligaments in the knee — Driscoll said her goals for Boston are simply to complete the race and to stay healthy. Charity participants have to be able to finish the marathon in less than six hours (roughly 13.5 minutes/mile).

After graduating from Rutgers in 2016, Driscoll pursued a graduate degree in physical therapy, which she received from Shenandoah University in 2019. Driscoll has a son, Cameron, with her husband, Kyle Driscoll, who is in his second year as a pitching coordinator for the Arizona Diamondbacks after spending five years in a variety of positions with the New York Mets.

Driscoll credits her family for helping her get to where she is today. “Now, I’m no longer a young athlete, but a working mother,” she said. “I’m having a great time challenging myself again, taking time for myself to get the training in, and knowing that my body is capable of doing hard things. One of the biggest things I want to highlight is ‘it takes a village.’

“I have the most supportive family, from my husband, my parents and grandmother, to our nanny who helps me carve out the time to train,” she said. “I couldn’t do it without them.”

To learn more about or support Driscoll’s fundraising efforts for the Dream Big! team, go to www.givengain.com/project/gabby-raising-funds-for-dream-big-91602.