Mission Accomplished

Marine finishes 100-mile run as tribute to Saugus veterans on Veterans Day – 27-plus hours in motion

  Marine veteran Brandon Montella said he slept for about three days after achieving his mission of finishing a 100-mile run on Veterans Day. It took Montella, a Saugus resident, and his running buddy Nicholas Santullo, of Medford, 27 hours and seven minutes to complete his “tribute run” honoring Saugus veterans. The race was also a fund-raiser for “Mission Ready, a nonprofit organization he created with a goal to provide military veterans and at-risk students who lack financial resources an opportunity to gain strength and a purpose in life through fitness training at his Woburn gym, “The Way LLC.”

  “We ended up doing the last 18 miles at the Saugus Belmont Elementary School,” Montella said in an interview this week.

  “Over 20 people came out from my gym to support, and a bunch were there for the finish and ran with us. It was truly awesome,” he said.

  Montella and Santullo ran most of their run on the Saugus-Lynn section of the Northern Strand Community Trail.

  “To all those who are in service to our country, kids feeling lost, or any individual just fighting for another day of life, that run was my tribute to you,” Montella said. “Never give up the fight. Lastly to my wife, I only wish to remain a man she is proud to call her husband and to my son a father he looks up to.”

  Montella’s wife, Tonya, and their five-year-old son, Isaiah, were at the Belmonte track to greet him after he finished his 100 miles, shortly before 7 p.m. last Friday (Nov. 11). They began running at 3:38 p.m. the previous day.

  “I drove home, had a beer and took a hot bath. It hurt pretty good, but I fell asleep around 8:30 p.m.,” Montella said.

  “I woke up kind feeling sick around 11 and jumped in a cold shower because I was feeling feverish. I realized it was a possible sugar crash and drank some juice. Stayed pretty much in bed for three days and downstairs lol. Moved around doing basic movements. I couldn’t really bend my left knee without help for three days,” he said.

  “Today I am back at work feeling sore, but I can move effectively again, train my clients and teach classes. Like I said still sore but today I have been bouncing around slowly, holding mitts for the boxers and sharing stories with my community members.”