Bill Murphy of Grafton, Mass. spent two days in Bristol last month. But unlike most visitors to our lovely waterfront town, he did not much enjoy himself.

As a participant in the Anchor Down Ultra Marathon, where runners see how far they can run through Colt State Park in 6-, 12-, or 24-hour spans, Murphy ran 68.6 miles in 24 hours.

“It was terrible,” he said, clarifying that the event itself was really well-organized — but mother nature had other plans for the day. “It poured, there was even a tornado warning. It was raining sideways. I could not see, even with a headlamp. Lots of people went down. In fact it had the most dropouts ever in the history of the race.”

A member of the Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island Board of Directors, Murphy has been a supporter of the charity since 2006.

“I’m in the mortgage business and every month we donate on the behalf of the transactions from that month, with close to $600,000 in total contributed.”

Why Make-A-Wish?

“I wanted to make a difference and give back, and watching ESPN and seeing the involvement of athletes like David Ortiz, Tom Brady, and Tedy Bruschi really touched me,” Murphy said. “When I took my kids to Disney and saw the Make-A-Wish kids, you knew who they were, they were smiling from ear to ear. It just clicked, I knew I wanted to be part of that.”

Murphy, best-selling author of “Thriving in the Storm: Nine Principles to Help You Overcome Any Adversity”, is always looking for his next challenge and his next way to give back to his community. In 2021, after committing to run the Boston Marathon for Team Make-A-Wish, Murphy suffered a torn quad tendon. Rather than defer to the following year, he completed the entire 26.2 mile race virtually, on crutches, around the track of his alma mater, Worcester State University.

“This race was not only about pushing my own limits, but giving others hope to go out and do more than they ever thought possible,” said Murphy. “Thinking of what wish children and families face with courage every day gives me the strength to face physical challenges while shining a light on the great work we do through Make-A-Wish.”

As if 68 miles in 24 hours wasn’t enough…
Murphy is now preparing for his greatest challenge to date — and as extreme as the Anchor Down was, it was just a warm-up for what he will be doing in November: The Great World Race.

The Great World Race, which will be run November 15-21, will see participants run 7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days. This ultimate challenge begins with a race in Antarctica, then travels to Cape Town for the African marathon. A flight to Australia and the Perth marathon follows, then it’s off to Istanbul, where that city’s location permits the Asian and European races to be held back-to-back without the need for a flight. Then it’s off to Columbia for the South American race before finishing the series in Miami.

Murphy’s “Running the World for Wishes” fundraising effort for Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island has a $50,000 goal that he is hoping to exceed. Murphy is funding his own entry fee for the adventure; 100% of donations to the cause will be going to Make-A-Wish.

“Bill’s steadfast support of our mission shows how deeply our work impacts people throughout the community,” said Sean Holleran, CEO of Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island. “We’re grateful that he is willing to go to such lengths to spread awareness of the power of a wish and raise funds to help us deliver meaningful wish experiences to even more local children. We’ll be rooting for you in this incredible undertaking, Bill!”

To learn more about Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, visit MassRI.wish.org. To donate to Bill Murphy’s Great World Race fundraiser benefitting Make-A-Wish Massachusetts and Rhode Island, visit https://bit.ly/greatworldrace.