“Special Olympics athletes inspire me... sometimes I say to myself, 'If they can do it, why can't I?'” Jura Greely said when reflecting on her journey to running the 2025 Boston 5K. Jura is a Special Education teacher and a former high school runner who after being inspired by Special Olympics athletes imagined running her second Boston 5k.

Jura started participating in events with her students from the New England Center for Children in 2013 and started volunteering with Special Olympics Massachusetts in 2015. Jura is very passionate about volunteer work.

“I volunteer a lot on my free time, and not just with Special Olympics, but a few other organizations. That's just who I am," she said. "I love giving back, and just the community I've built over the last ten plus years with Special Olympics.”

Jura goes above and beyond as a Game Management Team member. She is part of the crew that helps run and organize a sports competition, making sure everything goes smoothly, safely, and fairly. She is kind of like the behind-the-scenes heroes who make games possible.

“I just love knowing that the students with disabilities where I work with will have the opportunity for sports and being able to participate in the unified programs or the local programs in their towns and cities,” she said.

In addition to the amazing work she does as a Game Management Team member, Jura is also helping to start another Lowell school-based program alongside another Special Olympics Massachusetts volunteer. Work like this is what earned Jura a Community Impact Award in 2022. “I feel that was unexpected, but awesome.” A Community Impact Award is a special award given to a person, group, or organization that has made a big difference in their community for Special Olympics MA.  

While it may have been her second B.A.A. Boston 5K, she was excited to cross the Boston Marathon finish line. “I'm probably going to cry.” she said. “I'm excited because I know just where I'm at ability wise, I'll never be able to do 26.2 miles. And knowing that I'll have at least this experience for 3.1 miles is very powerful and amazing”. Jura mentioned she doesn’t call herself a runner after just getting over a knee injury. She was inspired by the Special Olympics athlete's persistence.

Juras' work in the community has had the greatest impact on athletes by working with them in her class and on the field. The last ten years with Special Olympics has meant so much to Jura and is what inspired her to run the Boston 5k for Special Olympics Massachusetts.  

Gregg is a member of the Special Olympics MA Content Squad. The mission of Special Olympics MA Athlete Leadership is to empower athletes to develop communication skills and utilize their voices to assume meaningful leadership roles. As members of the Content Squad, athlete leaders contribute to Special Olympics MA story-telling through interviews, photos, video creation, and more.

‍