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On April 20, Thawn Sherenté Harris will run the Boston Marathon, literally following in the footsteps of his great-uncle, the legendary Narragansett Indian runner from Westerly, R.I., Ellison "Tarzan" Brown.

And as he climbs the hill between miles 20 and 21, Harris will pass the spot where Brown pulled away from Johnny Kelley to win the 1936 Boston Marathon -- breaking Kelley's heart and giving rise to the name "Heartbreak Hill."

"This run is ceremonial and just about running for my tribe," Harris said. "I won’t come anywhere close to Uncle Tarzan, but it’s about that journey and pushing yourself and being in that same space. We belong in these spaces."

Harris, 47, lives in Charlestown, R.I., and teaches physical education at The Met High School in Providence. He also is a traditional storyteller within his tribal community.

He said his great-uncle is an enormous source of pride for the Narragansett people. Brown won the Boston Marathon in 1936 and 1939, and he competed in the marathon at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.

Harris said he will be the first direct relative to run the marathon since Brown last ran it in 1946.

"But every Narragansett knows about it and feels the reverence," he said. "He was able to be one of those great figures of our people and to bring the Narragansett people back into the spotlight when they really didn’t want to recognize us. He made them have to recognize what he was."

A sculptor recently completed a life-sized statue of Brown that will be placed in a park outside the train station in Westerly, R.I.

Harris said he would also like to see a statue of Brown near the Johnny Kelley statue on Heartbreak Hill. "It’s not the full story without him being there," he said.

Harris said he has always dreamed of running the Boston Marathon. He has run two half marathons, but with seven children, he was not able to train for a full marathon, and he began to think his running days were over after an Achilles injury.

But in December, he saw on Facebook that the Ohketeau Cultural Center Natives Run initiative had, in partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, secured race bibs for tribal citizens in New England. So he signed up and told himself, "I better start running again."

Harris recently did a 21-mile training run, going up Heartbreak Hill several times. "I had heard about this magical place in childhood and adulthood,” he said. “Running the hill – it was a surreal moment, and I felt overwhelmed."

He said that when he first made it to the top of the hill he felt like Rocky Balboa running up the stairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "I made it here too, where my great-uncle ran, where he was probably feeling tired but got that boost of adrenaline and took off," he said.

Harris said the Narragansett community has been overwhelmingly supportive of his drive to run the marathon. “I feel like George Bailey — the richest man in town,” he said.