On Saturday, June 13, Wellesley runners came together to honor Parker Morse, who recently passed away unexpectedly, in a way that he truly would have appreciated.

Over the course of 14 hours, his friends covered over 100 miles in relay fashion with Parker’s running watch in tow: Every hour on the hour, they handed off the trusty timepiece at the Wellesley High School Track, where each week Parker ran a morning workout with the Tuesday Track Club.

Relay legs included many of Parker’s favorites, including:

The Track, with laps completed as part of each leg. A sign of Parker’s popularity was that in addition to those out on the roads, many runners in town stopped by to run laps in his honor.

The “Road Mile” loop starting at Whole Foods, down Washington to the Rice-Smith-State loop and back to the Track parking lot. Ben Morse, Parker’s brother, ran several of these as well.
The Brook Path
The Wellesley Turkey Trot 5k course
All of the Boston Marathon Course through Wellesley, and continuing up to the top of Heartbreak Hill in Newton
The Schofield 5K course

Additionally, Parker had the goal to run every street in Wellesley. He pursued this during the long, lonely days of the COVID-19 pandemic, but one street remained: Route 9 East where there is no sidewalk. Wellesley Police Chief Scott Whittemore and the Wellesley Police Department supported this goal by accompanying a group of runners as they ran down the breakdown lane from Hardy Elementary School to Donizetti Street.

Wellesley runner Stephen Forasté wrote: “Parker Morse meant a lot to many people in town. Husband, Father, Friend, Running Journalist, Marathoner. Parker was the ‘glue’ of the Tuesday Track Club, and the Saturday Morning Appleby Runners. It is unbelievable that a lifelong runner with so much positivity could be taken from his family and friends so suddenly. It is an honor that we could symbolically help Parker support running in Wellesley… We miss you Parker.”