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Boston running community loses legend Tommy Leonard

Tommy Leonard (Photo by Bill Brett / Courtesy: Boston Marathon)

FALMOUTH, Mass. — A legend in the Massachusetts running community died Wednesday night.

Tommy Leonard, who was 85, founded the Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod and was known to many as "the friendly face behind the Eliot Lounge, a runner's bar in the heart of Boston."

Leonard was the official greeter at the Boston marathon who welcomed scores of runners to the finish line of the annual race for the Boston Athletic Association.

“Tommy and I were friends for over 40 years. In addition to all the hours at the Eliot Lounge, we ran together, planned events together, and travelled together to races. He gave color and joy to running in a way that no one else ever could or ever will,” said B.A.A. CEO Tom Grilk.

Leonard is memorialized with a namesake bridge that runners pass under in the last mile of the Boston marathon just before taking the right on Hereford Street.

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