A Massachusetts father of three, whose wife allegedly strangled their children in a fit of postpartum depression, finished the Boston Marathon with tears in his eyes as he wore his daughter’s bow and bracelets for his sons.
Patrick Clancy, 33, completed the marathon in just under four hours on Monday and raised more than $75,000 for Boston Children’s Hospital in honor of his three late children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 7 months, who were killed just over a year ago.
“I love my kids, they’re wonderful people,” Clancy told WCVB after he crossed the finish line. “Everybody loved them. They had short lives – but they had good lives.”
The dad wore a bright blue and orange checkered Miles for Miracles jersey. On the back, it read in handwritten letters: “In memory of Cora, Dawson & Callan. Every mile, every day.”
His wife, Lindsay Clancy, allegedly strangled their three children in January 2023 before attempting suicide by jumping out a second-story window after suffering from postpartum depression or psychosis.
Monday was the Duxbury native’s first marathon and he explained that training for the big event became therapy for him after the tragedy.
“They were my motivation,” he told the local outlet. “It was therapeutic. It was purpose. I knew we could make a big difference and we did, so it was good.”
While running the course, the crowd cheered his name despite it not being on his shirt and encouraged him to keep going.
But the cheers weren’t the only thing keeping Clancy going throughout the 26.2-mile course, so were the mementos from his children, which he carried with him each step.
He wore a tiny blue bow, pinned to his left shoulder, that belonged to his daughter Cora. He also wore a “Happy Callan” bracelet and a different one to represent Dawson.
The father of three also carried a resin with his children’s handprints on it that Boston Children’s Hospital — where Callan died days after the attack — had given him last year, he said in a statement on the hospital’s page.
Clancy raised $77,062 for the hospital as part of their Miles for Miracle team, exceeding his goal of $65,000.
Clancy also reiterated that he has forgiven his wife Lindsay Clancy, who was allegedly suffering from psychological problems at the time.
“I said I forgive my wife and I do. I’ll just leave it at that,” he told WCVB.
The Duxbury resident had previously flagged concerns for his wife’s mental health to friends before the tragedy, saying he thought she was being “prescribed too many medications.”
Lindsay has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and is currently undergoing mental health treatment at Tewksbury State Hospital.