I did not start running until right before my 40th birthday. As a bucket list I signed up for a 5k. Before I ran the 5k I was convinced by my coworkers to sign up for the Disney Marathon, going from not a runner to running a marathon in less than a year. I did not think I would continue running but, over the next 10 years I ran over 20 half marathon and 4 marathons. I probably should not admit this, but I never had a desire to run the Boston Marathon. This all changed on Boston Marathon Monday, April 20, 2026. I was at my first appointment with my oncologist after being diagnosed with breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma) on April 6 after having an abnormal mammogram. Everything felt so surreal and scary but when I got home I watched all the heartwarming Boston Marathon content on social media. That night I decided it was going to run the Boston Marathon in 2027 for a cancer charity. It gave me something in the future to focus on, the training, fundraising, and crossing the finish line. I spent that week researching the different charities that had bibs, focusing on those specific to breast cancer and/or cancer research. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute immediately was at the top of my list for charities that I was excited to support. One hundred percent of the money raised by marathoners supports the Claudia Adams Barr Program in innovative basic research
I care about cancer research because I saw first hand how it impacted my treatment. Based on what I had known of breast cancer I thought I would need to have a mastectomy and chemotherapy, but soon I was learning about all the studies that made my treatment so much less invasive. I was a good candidate for lumpectomy and didn’t need a mastectomy. I didn’t need to have lymph nodes taken. I had oncotyping done on my tumor and scored a 0 (the only time in my life I would be getting a 0 on a test) and didn’t need to have chemotherapy. And thanks to research I only had to have 5 days of radiation therapy instead of 15 or 30 days. My tumor was estrogen receptor positive and so I am now taking aromatase inhibitors for the next 5 years to prevent reoccurrence of the cancer. I am the face of someone that benefited from research and clinical trials on breast cancer treatment. The attack on public health, science, medicine and research over the last several years is so devastating. Fundraising for Dana-Farber is even more important right now because of the loss of NIH and other government funding streams.
You can donate here. Double your impact by having your company match your donation. Look up if your company does matching here. Let me know if have questions.
I am doing the same thing I did for the previous marathons, sponsor me for a mile of the marathon! So as the miles increase, so does the difficulty and the cost to sponsor me! During the mile that you sponsor I will be blaming you for the pain that I am in and I may send you photos of how miserable I look. If you would like a specific mile (and it is available), please let me know. Feel free to donate more than is required than the mile you want to sponsor! Updates on what miles are taken can be seen on the right column of this blog.
<0 Julie K (journey to the start)
1 Kendra (city #1 Hopkinton)
2 Kendra
3 Jerold (city #2 Ashland)
4 Sarah
5 Lacy (city #3 Framingham)
6 Mel and Zach
7 Kim (Framingham train station, will I trip on the tracks?)
8 Doug (city #4 Natick)
9 Cari
10 Kate and Joe (Lake Cochichuate)
11 Erin (downtown Natick)
12 Amy K (city #5 Wellesley)
13 Jessica Wellesley College scream tunnel
14 Suzy (downtown Wellesley)
15 Dr. Devon
16 Melissa S (prepare for rollercoaster)
17 Deb (city #6 Newton and 1st hill)
18 ATL Coven (2nd hill)
19 Ana
20 Renee (3rd hill + Johnny Kelly tribute)
21 Scott (heartbreak hill)
22 Kita and Kai (team husky) and Moose and Nova (team bark) (Boston college)
23 Berry brothers and the outlaws (Boston skyline)
24 Jane and RJ (city #7 Boston)
25 Kristen and Garrett (Boston citgo sign)
26 GH (Fenway park)
26.2 dad finish
>26.2 GH (post race celebration)
