T-Minus 7 Months

7 months from today I will be sitting in the basement of St. John's in Hopkinton, MA. Nervous laughter will punctuate the quiet morning air and there will be countless hugs, pictures, and far too many trips to the bathroom. Patient banners will be carefully placed around the room awaiting signatures and expressions of encouragement, and volunteers will be on hand to provide nourishment for the journey ahead. There will be announcements, speeches, and testimonials. Some of us will head next door to the chapel where a Mass will be offered for those who wish to join. It will end with a hearty chorus of "God Bless America" and it will likely make me cry (I am a sucker for the music, after all). Minutes will feel like hours and hours will go by in minutes. And then we will find our way outside to gather on the front steps of St. John's where a photographer will capture the smiles, nerves, and grit of the more than 500 runners who have taken on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) - a challenge which asks runners to train for and run all 26.2 miles of Boston's famed course while raising vital money for innovative cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. And soon thereafter, we will make our way to the starting line of the 123rd Boston Marathon.

There is a reason they call the corrals which space out the runners "waves"- because as we make our way down a  side street we will suddenly merge into a sea of other charity runners, each of us proudly wearing a singlet emblazoned with the cause we have so passionately trained and fundraised for. We will have put in months of hard work to allow our legs to go the distance and there will be no shortage of energy replenishment along the course- but what will really drive each of us to Boylston Street is our hearts. Hearts that will remind us of dear family, friends, and angels who we will honor with our run. Hearts that will remind us of the power we have to impact change. Hearts that will burst with all the emotions as strangers yell your name and thank you for running. 

7 months from today will be April 15, 2019. It will be six years to the day that lives were changed forever,, including my own, on Boylston Street. We have since reclaimed that date as One Boston Day - an annual day of kindness, service, and love. I can’t think of a more fitting way to honor the spirit of that day and to remember the lives lost and forever altered than by running my third DFMC/Boston to help save and change lives through the research being done at DFCI.

And so starts the journey.

It's official!
Honored and humbled to be back with the very best teammates,
crew, and volunteers for DFMC's 30th season!