For more than 10 years, working his way from converted Ivy League defensive end to Patriots Pro Bowl fullback, James Develin made a career of “embracing that suck” in one of the least glamorous roles in the NFL.
Now, in his second year of retirement, the three-time Super Bowl champion Develin has found a new outlet for his competitive spirit and what some might see as borderline masochistic tendencies.
Develin, still a 250-pound behemoth, is running this coming Monday’s 2021 Boston Marathon, part of the team raising money for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation. (Click here to make a donation to Develin’s fundraising efforts.)
A longtime supporter of the foundation started by the former Patriots guard and cancer survivor, Develin’s thought about running Boston since former teammate Ryan Wendell embarked on the same football-to-marathon challenge back in 2018.
“I just really believed in what they do there for New England families struggling with cancer diagnoses and the financial burden that it brings,” Develin said of the Joe Andruzzi Foundation. “So, I made a mental note back then when I talked to Wendy about what he was doing and I was like man if I ever get that opportunity after I’m done playing, I’d love to do it. Because it’s definitely something that’s out of my comfort zone. That’s kind of what got me to it this year. Being over a year out of the game of football I was just looking for something to kind of get those competitive juices flowing again.”
Even before he found out Boston would be an actual in-person event this year, after last year’s race was forced into the virtual realm by COVID, the avid weightlifter Develin had actually started dabbling in running a bit. That gave him even more confidence in committing to the challenge of Boston.
“I was doing my training that I’d always done, I never really stopped. I was just hitting the weights hard trying to be as strong as possible. But then I didn’t have anywhere to show it,” Develin said of his retirement after the 2019 season. “So I was like, let me see if I can do something else that kind of challenges me in a different way. So I started running a little bit more in the mornings, I’d get up and just go for 3-4 miles at that time. Slowly I started adding on more and more miles.”
Now, he’s been in full-fledged training mode for months. Gone are his “old beat-up Nikes” replaced by fancy new running shoes with a “carbon-fiber plate” that he almost sounds proud of.
Develin clearly brings to his marathon training the quiet confidence and blue-collar work ethic that helped him make the jump from the Brown University defensive line to a guy Patriots coach Bill Belichick described at the time of his retirement as “one of the most appreciated and respected players we have ever had.”
“It’s not been that hard, honestly. My body’s really adapted to it pretty well. I’m definitely not built for it,” Develin said with chuckle. “Honestly the toughest thing is time management. Because it just takes so long to put in 15 or 20 mile runs.”
Those can be a challenge for a husband and father of four who’s still finding his post-football footing in the real world. In fact, Develin has found the mental tests of distance running far greater than the physical toll it takes.
“It’s always around that 3-5 mile range where my mind tries to psych myself out and starts to try to tell me, ‘Ah, stop. This is getting tough. Take a break. Walk.’ And as long as I can push myself through that, I feel like once I get over that hurdle it’s honestly all the same,” Develin said. “Once I hit 10 miles, 10 to 20 it’s all the same. Listening to something good. Good music or a book or a podcast and just kind of get lost in it and just let the miles tick by.”
As strange as it may sound for a guy who made a living for a decade as a human battering ram, including leading Sony Michel and the Patriots to Super Bowl glory against the Rams, Develin has found a peaceful solitude in his transition to marathon training.
“Once you get up there in the miles it’s such a mental game. But it becomes a beautiful thing at a certain point,” Develin said. “Because once you get over the mental struggle of knowing that you are going to just be in for like a four-hour monotonous run, you are really able to go to some pretty cool places in your mind, where you can really think deeply and clearly. I mean if you have something on your mind that you have to get through and you go for a run for an hour, that’s like some of the clearest thoughts that I’ve ever had. That’s been really an eye-opening experience that I never really had before. That’s been a really cool aspect of this whole thing.”
That said, Develin still certainly brings a fullback’s mentality to his marathon preparations. Both athletic endeavors may even tap into some innate aspect of his mental makeup that’s either a strength or a flaw, depending on perspective.
“Maybe there is a little bit of similarity between the two. Honestly, I never thought of that,” Develin said, pondering the two uniquely laborious challenges. “I mean fullback, there is really no glory in it. You are just kinda in there to f---ing throw your body into the mix and then get the job done. Really I feel like that’s kind of the same, it’s a totally different sport, especially as a fullback your plays are in a matter of seconds, but it’s really between running for four or four-and-a-half hours or running into a 200-300 pound man as hard as you can. It’s all about just kind of embracing that suck and really just doing what you have to do to get the job done. So there is definitely some overlap there.”
Outside of his marathon training, and now settling into a retired life that isn’t totaling under the control of COVID, Develin has entrepreneurial aspirations. He’s hopeful of opening gyms and sports performance facilities in the New Jersey/Pennsylvania areas. He’s ready to dive head first into the business world the way he once did an opposing linebacker.
But first, there is one last athletic challenge to conquer with Monday’s 125th running of the Boston Marathon.
“Boston is heralded as THE marathon. It’s like the Super Bowl of marathons,” Develin concluded. “So if I can do that from the onset, like I don’t know if I’ll ever run a marathon again, but if I can just get that one under my belt, as long as I finish that’s something I can be proud of. So it’s just a cool challenge and a unique opportunity to be able to do it and raise for money for a charity that I really am close to and that I believe in. It’s just been a really cool experience and I’m just proud to be a part of it.”
To donate to James Develin’s fundraising efforts to support the Joe Andruzzi Foundation, click here.
