Of Cambridge, October 5, 2006, age 50. Beloved partner of Sarah R. Winkley of Cambridge. Loving son of Raymond and Priscilla (Eaton) Billington of Somerset. Brother of Dianne Stronach and her husband Ted, of Concord and Steven Billington and his wife, Carole of Somerset. Uncle of Daniel Ashton, David and Jonathan Stronach, and Kaitlyn Billington. A gathering of relatives and friends will take place from 11:30AM until noon on Tuesday, Oct. 10th in Story Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, followed by a memorial service. He was a Chief Account Officer at M.I.T. and a former Financial Analyst for the City of Cambridge. Greg was avid runner and golfer.
It would have been another race on the list for Billington
ONE OF MANY ROAD RACES: Former Somerset athlete Greg Billington is seen competing in the Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run Road Race in 2002, one of nearly 1,000 road races that he ran before his life was cut short by cancer last year at the age of 50.
June 27, 2007 5:55 PM
By GEORGE AUSTIN
Editor
SOMERSET — Greg Billington was always a numbers guy, especially when it came to road races. He would write down every race he ran, the distance and his time. His goal was to run a thousand races. And he would have got there had his life not been cut short by cancer about a year ago.
But Billington's spirit will be present at the Fourth of July Road Race in Somerset which the Recreation Commission is dedicating to him this year.
"He would have been very humbled and he would have been proud," Steve Billington, Greg's brother, said of how he would have felt about the honor. "He didn't like the spotlight on him."
Greg ran 997 road races in his life and logged 31,222 miles of running during that time. He lived a quarter of a mile away from Fresh Pond in Cambridge where they held races every Saturday and Greg was always there competing. Greg ran the Boston Marathon three times. Thirty-eight of the races he ran were half marathons. He entered 209 races that were 10 kilometers which is equivalent to 6.2 miles. Steve said his brother always had to say hi to Carlin Lynch at the New Bedford Half Marathon every year. Greg ran the Fourth of July Race in Somerset for many years.
"He definitely loved the 10Ks," Sarah Winkley, who was Greg's girlfriend, said. "That was his favorite length. It was just long enough that it required more endurance than a sprint."
Steve said one of his brother's favorite races was the Columbus Day Race in Somerset. Greg had told his brother, who was on the Recreation Commission at the time, that Somerset should have a road race in the fall and so the Columbus Day race was started by Steve and former playground and recreation commissioner Peter Barrar. The Somerset Columbus Day Race in 2005 was the last race that Greg would run.
Greg also wanted to time everything and not just his races or timing runs. Ms. Winkley remembers walking with him to a Portland Seadogs minor league baseball game in Maine.
"He was looking at his watch," Ms. Winkley said. "He was timing how long it took to get there."
Ms. Winkley likes to run marathons, Her goal is to run one in every state. Greg would usually go with her to a race and he would run the half marathon while she was running the 26.2-mile race. Greg would usually wave to her at the half way point.
"Every vacation, we had to combine a road race, a sporting event, like baseball or basketball, and a Bruce Springsteen concert," Ms. Winkley said.
Steve said his brother's watch was set to go off every hour on the hour and when Greg died, Steve could not get over the fact that he passed away at exactly 8 p.m.
After he died, the friends who he worked with at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation wanted to raise some money to do something in Greg's memory. The organizer of the Fresh Pond races raised $3,555 for the Friends of MIT. They decided to donate the money to a basketball clinic to give an award for the most improved player and to the Fourth of July Road Race in Greg's name.
Greg, who was 50 when he died last year, grew up near the Pottersville basketball courts in Somerset. Carole said Greg remembered being at the courts when former President Richard Nixon resigned.
At Colby College, Greg lettered in baseball and basketball and graduated from that school in 1978. He continued playing basketball after college and would go back to Colby for alumni games.
"He would go to Franklin Park with the young kids and hold his own," Steve said.
After Greg died last year, the Colby basketball team dedicated its season to him. The players wore a patch on their uniforms with a "GB" on it and a logo of a basketball.
"That was a tribute to his character," Carole said. Greg received a master of administration degree from Northeastern University.
Billington started running in 1981. His sister-in-law, Carole Billington, said nobody could really figure out why he started running. She said he became addicted to it.
"After he ran, he got good at it and he liked it," Steve said. "It was the challenge of getting down to a 7:30 mile and staying with it and then down to 6:30. He was incredibly competitive and self driven."
Greg was a 1974 graduate of Somerset High School where he played baseball and basketball. His oldest and best friend, John Kineavy, went to high school there with him.
"He regretted not running cross country in high school," Steve said. "If he had done it over, he would have done cross country."
Greg was chief accounting officer for MIT Corporation. He worked as an accountant for the City of Cambridge before that. Steve said his brother loved Cambridge.
Ms. Winkley started running to lose weight. She worked in Cambridge with Greg and bumped into him at a road race one day. Even though he was very competitive in sports, Ms. Winkley said Greg was a very modest, private person.
"He loved the beach," Ms. Winkley said. "He was a great reader. His house was full of books."
Carole said Greg enjoyed going to any sporting events that his nephews were in. He watched them play football, soccer, baseball and basketball and when he read about how well they did in the newspaper, he would call them.
"He was more than an uncle to them," Carole said.
Although she was not into sports, Greg always said his niece, Kaitlyn Billington, used her academics as sports. Kaitlyn was one of the top 10 students in the Class of 2007 at Somerset High School. Kaitlyn will be attending Colby College this September.
"Katie feels so privileged to go to the school that Greg did," Carole said. "It was special to her. She had so many choices. For her to choose Colby in the end was interesting."
Greg went to the 2004 World Series that the Red Sox won for the first time in 86 years and he told Steve he wanted his ashes spread at Fenway Park, but Steve is not sure if that can be done.
Ms. Winkley said Greg was very supportive of everyone he knew. Carole said Greg brought her coffee at Boston Children's Hospital when she was there with her daughter.
At the road race next week, Greg's parents, former selectman Ray Billington, and his wife, Priscilla Billington, will be there, along with Steve and Carole and their daughter Kaitlyn and Ms. Winkley.
Steve said when his brother was sick, the most important thing to him was when he was going to run again. Greg had colon cancer that spread to the liver and had chemotherapy treatments for 2 1/2 years.
"As soon as he got disconnected, we would go for a run," Ms. Winkley said of the time when Greg was having chemo treatments. "That was our accomplishment. For the last six or seven months, we couldn't run, but he figured if he was strong enough to run, he could beat it."
A DAY AT THE BEACH: when he was not running, working or at one of the games of his nephews, Greg Billington enjoyed going to the beach and reading a book.
LENDING A HELPING HAND: Greg Billington, left, pitched in to help organize this race in his hometown of Cambridge, a city he grew to love after growing up in his native Somerset.
Terri Coffey (Froment)
Gregory R. Billington
Of Cambridge, October 5, 2006, age 50. Beloved partner of Sarah R. Winkley of Cambridge. Loving son of Raymond and Priscilla (Eaton) Billington of Somerset. Brother of Dianne Stronach and her husband Ted, of Concord and Steven Billington and his wife, Carole of Somerset. Uncle of Daniel Ashton, David and Jonathan Stronach, and Kaitlyn Billington. A gathering of relatives and friends will take place from 11:30AM until noon on Tuesday, Oct. 10th in Story Chapel, Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, followed by a memorial service. He was a Chief Account Officer at M.I.T. and a former Financial Analyst for the City of Cambridge. Greg was avid runner and golfer.
~ Boston Globe
================================================================================
By GEORGE AUSTIN
Editor
SOMERSET — Greg Billington was always a numbers guy, especially when it came to road races. He would write down every race he ran, the distance and his time. His goal was to run a thousand races. And he would have got there had his life not been cut short by cancer about a year ago.
But Billington's spirit will be present at the Fourth of July Road Race in Somerset which the Recreation Commission is dedicating to him this year.
"He would have been very humbled and he would have been proud," Steve Billington, Greg's brother, said of how he would have felt about the honor. "He didn't like the spotlight on him."
Greg ran 997 road races in his life and logged 31,222 miles of running during that time. He lived a quarter of a mile away from Fresh Pond in Cambridge where they held races every Saturday and Greg was always there competing. Greg ran the Boston Marathon three times. Thirty-eight of the races he ran were half marathons. He entered 209 races that were 10 kilometers which is equivalent to 6.2 miles. Steve said his brother always had to say hi to Carlin Lynch at the New Bedford Half Marathon every year. Greg ran the Fourth of July Race in Somerset for many years.
"He definitely loved the 10Ks," Sarah Winkley, who was Greg's girlfriend, said. "That was his favorite length. It was just long enough that it required more endurance than a sprint."
Steve said one of his brother's favorite races was the Columbus Day Race in Somerset. Greg had told his brother, who was on the Recreation Commission at the time, that Somerset should have a road race in the fall and so the Columbus Day race was started by Steve and former playground and recreation commissioner Peter Barrar. The Somerset Columbus Day Race in 2005 was the last race that Greg would run.
Greg also wanted to time everything and not just his races or timing runs. Ms. Winkley remembers walking with him to a Portland Seadogs minor league baseball game in Maine.
"He was looking at his watch," Ms. Winkley said. "He was timing how long it took to get there."
Ms. Winkley likes to run marathons, Her goal is to run one in every state. Greg would usually go with her to a race and he would run the half marathon while she was running the 26.2-mile race. Greg would usually wave to her at the half way point.
"Every vacation, we had to combine a road race, a sporting event, like baseball or basketball, and a Bruce Springsteen concert," Ms. Winkley said.
Steve said his brother's watch was set to go off every hour on the hour and when Greg died, Steve could not get over the fact that he passed away at exactly 8 p.m.
After he died, the friends who he worked with at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Corporation wanted to raise some money to do something in Greg's memory. The organizer of the Fresh Pond races raised $3,555 for the Friends of MIT. They decided to donate the money to a basketball clinic to give an award for the most improved player and to the Fourth of July Road Race in Greg's name.
Greg, who was 50 when he died last year, grew up near the Pottersville basketball courts in Somerset. Carole said Greg remembered being at the courts when former President Richard Nixon resigned.
At Colby College, Greg lettered in baseball and basketball and graduated from that school in 1978. He continued playing basketball after college and would go back to Colby for alumni games.
"He would go to Franklin Park with the young kids and hold his own," Steve said.
After Greg died last year, the Colby basketball team dedicated its season to him. The players wore a patch on their uniforms with a "GB" on it and a logo of a basketball.
"That was a tribute to his character," Carole said. Greg received a master of administration degree from Northeastern University.
Billington started running in 1981. His sister-in-law, Carole Billington, said nobody could really figure out why he started running. She said he became addicted to it.
"After he ran, he got good at it and he liked it," Steve said. "It was the challenge of getting down to a 7:30 mile and staying with it and then down to 6:30. He was incredibly competitive and self driven."
Greg was a 1974 graduate of Somerset High School where he played baseball and basketball. His oldest and best friend, John Kineavy, went to high school there with him.
"He regretted not running cross country in high school," Steve said. "If he had done it over, he would have done cross country."
Greg was chief accounting officer for MIT Corporation. He worked as an accountant for the City of Cambridge before that. Steve said his brother loved Cambridge.
Ms. Winkley started running to lose weight. She worked in Cambridge with Greg and bumped into him at a road race one day. Even though he was very competitive in sports, Ms. Winkley said Greg was a very modest, private person.
"He loved the beach," Ms. Winkley said. "He was a great reader. His house was full of books."
Carole said Greg enjoyed going to any sporting events that his nephews were in. He watched them play football, soccer, baseball and basketball and when he read about how well they did in the newspaper, he would call them.
"He was more than an uncle to them," Carole said.
Although she was not into sports, Greg always said his niece, Kaitlyn Billington, used her academics as sports. Kaitlyn was one of the top 10 students in the Class of 2007 at Somerset High School. Kaitlyn will be attending Colby College this September.
"Katie feels so privileged to go to the school that Greg did," Carole said. "It was special to her. She had so many choices. For her to choose Colby in the end was interesting."
Greg went to the 2004 World Series that the Red Sox won for the first time in 86 years and he told Steve he wanted his ashes spread at Fenway Park, but Steve is not sure if that can be done.
Ms. Winkley said Greg was very supportive of everyone he knew. Carole said Greg brought her coffee at Boston Children's Hospital when she was there with her daughter.
At the road race next week, Greg's parents, former selectman Ray Billington, and his wife, Priscilla Billington, will be there, along with Steve and Carole and their daughter Kaitlyn and Ms. Winkley.
Steve said when his brother was sick, the most important thing to him was when he was going to run again. Greg had colon cancer that spread to the liver and had chemotherapy treatments for 2 1/2 years.
"As soon as he got disconnected, we would go for a run," Ms. Winkley said of the time when Greg was having chemo treatments. "That was our accomplishment. For the last six or seven months, we couldn't run, but he figured if he was strong enough to run, he could beat it."
A DAY AT THE BEACH: when he was not running, working or at one of the games of his nephews, Greg Billington enjoyed going to the beach and reading a book.
LENDING A HELPING HAND: Greg Billington, left, pitched in to help organize this race in his hometown of Cambridge, a city he grew to love after growing up in his native Somerset.
~ South Coast Today
Amy Perron (Fuller)
Terri, Thanks for posting. What tragic news. I remember him as such a smart and friendly guy.