The annual James Joyce Ramble is an unlikely marriage of literature and running shoes

By Joe O’Shea

The James Joyce Ramble could not have been better named.  Much like the tortuous prose that the famous Irish author employed in “Finnegan’s Wake” and “Ulysses,” the James Joyce Ramble meanders, snakelike, throughout the roads of suburban Dedham.

This year’s event will take place Sunday, April 27 at the Endicott Estate, 656 East St., beginning at 11pm.

Now in its 20^th year, the annual 10-kilometer race involves a theatrical element.  Actors and readers stand by the roadside, reading aloud passages from famous Joycean works such as “Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man,” “Exiles,” “Dubliners,” and “The Dead,” as well as from him aforementioned signature works.  Race organizers claim that it’s the only theater where the performers stand still and the audience moves by.

This unique race is the brainchild of Dedham resident and thespian Martin Hanley, who was inspired “when a large leather-bound volume of Ulysses fell off a shelf and hit me on the head.”

“That’s definite hyperbole,” assures Hanley, chuckling.  “I wanted to do a running event but didn’t want to do just another running event.  Being in the performing profession, I wanted something that was more theatrical, something with more flair than playing the ‘Rocky’ or ‘Chariots of Fire’ themes over loudspeakers along the course.”

Proving that imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, others have mimicked the Ramble across the country.  “The rock and roll marathon in L.A. stole the idea and has performers on the course,” says Hanley.  “I’d say it’s not a problem: If I hadn’t come up with the idea, someone else would have.”

Last year, 35 costumed actors entertained the masses, which include spectators, pedestrians, amateur runners, and world-class marathoners.

The race, which includes both a children’s walk and a 3.5-mile fitness walk, has grown in prestige over the years.  The event has hosted the New England USA Track and Field 10K Grand Prix Championship, and even a Boston Marathon champion once ran the course.

“We had great validation a few years ago when Uta Pippig chose this as her first race after being banned from racing by the German Sports Federation,” notes Hanley, who most recently played a Wellesley College professor in the Julia Roberts vehicle, “Mona Lisa Smile.” “Here’s the most popular female marathon in the world, and she stays in town for two weeks [after the Boston Marathon] to run our modest 10K without corporate sponsorship.  She decided to run the Ramble because she had heard so much about it.”

There is some prize money involved, with winners being named in men’s, women’s, masters’, and team categories.  The remainder of the proceeds is donated to the Claudia Adams-Barr Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The race also recognizes writers, artists, and political free thinkers who suffer at the hands of repressive governments.  Each year, the Ramble is dedicated to an activist.  Last year, it was dedicated to Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.  As of deadline, no winner has been chosen for this year.

“It’s a grass-roots community event, but we treat it like it’s a world-class event,” says Hanley.  “If the Queen of England were to roll down the street, we could accommodate her, but if a chimney sweep called up and wanted to run, he’d be just as comfortable and treated just as well.”

Volunteers call 781-326-6693.  Runners call 781-686-1500. Visit www.ramble.org.