Ultramarathon World
By Bill Higgins
Sports Editor
Cape Cod Times
Hyannis, Massachusetts - Johnny Kelley of East Dennis, the 91-year-old Boston Marathon legend, is in stable condition at Cape Cod Hospital after undergoing emergency abdominal surgery earlier this week. Kelley was operated on Tuesday night to repair a perforation in his lower intestine. According to a statement released by the Boston Athletic Association, Kelley's surgeons termed the operation a total success and said Kelley is in remarkable health. They added Kelley is expected to make a full recovery.
Hospital spokesperson Deborah Dougherty said Kelley was "resting comfortably." "It was emergency surgery, but he's doing fine and recovering well," she said. A close friend of Kelley's added, "Johnny's fine. Tell all his friends he's going to be OK and he's looking forward to being at the (Boston) marathon this spring."
Kelley ran Boston 61 times, completed the 26.2-mile course 58 times and won the race twice, in 1935 and '45. He retired from running the marathon distance in 1992 and has presided over the race since then as its grand marshal. This year's race is scheduled for April 19.
Out next week
Guy Morse of Centerville, Boston Marathon race director and another close friend of Kelley's, said he was told Kelley might be released from the hospital early next week. "From all reports I've heard, this came on suddenly," said Morse. "I don't think he had been sick or uncomfortable until Tuesday. I know Johnny was planning to go to Florida in February and I think those plans are still on."
While Kelley retired from running marathons seven years ago, he has continued competing in races of shorter distances and exercises on a daily basis. A 10-foot high bronze sculpture of Kelley sits on a grassy boulevard in Newton on the Boston Marathon course, at the beginning of Heartbreak Hill. The monument shows two runners hand-in-hand crossing a finish line. One is Johnny at the age of 27 winning Boston in 1935; the other is him at 84 finishing the marathon in 1992 for the 61st time.
The statue is titled "Young at Heart," which is Kelley's motto, favorite song and the title of his biography. While Kelley is best known for his love affair with the Boston Marathon, he also was a member of three U.S. Olympic teams, running the marathon in the 1936 Summer
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