What a ride!!

It's been 4 days since the Marathon, but I am still constantly thinking about it. What an amazing experience it has been!

When I first ran the Boston Marathon for Dana-Farber in 2014, I knew it would be special, in part because of the determination to reclaim Patriots' Day as a joyous occasion after the tragedy in 2013, and also because I was running in memory of 3 friends who had died of cancer. As described in the newly released film "Boston: The Documentary", the 2014 race was "epic".

This year, having decided to run again in memory of Dr. Patricia Frost-Fitch, one of my earliest mentors in the field of veterinary dentistry, I was not sure what to expect. As I mentioned in my last post, the training was more difficult for me this time, and I have said to more than one person "This is definitely going to be my last marathon". However, my experience in Boston this year makes it likely that I will return. The staff and volunteers for Dana-Farber, the teammates running in tribute to spouses, children or parents who have died of cancer, and the unceasing encouragement from a million spectators made Monday an unforgettable day. I am still basking in the post-Marathon glow!

With the help of over 80 donors, I raised $10,440 for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Cancer Research. One of the most special things about running for Dana-Farber is knowing that the work we are doing actually saves lives. For example, immunotherapy cancer drugs like ipilimumab and nivolumab were developed based on research done by Barr investigators at Dana-Farber. Hearing "Thank you, Dana-Farber!" throughout the course was humbling and helped keep me focused on the finish line.
 
At mile 25 at Kenmore Square, I was having a tough time and was walking. One of the course photographers captured this moment, and even though I initially didn't want to post it, because it's not a happy photo, I am putting it up because it reminds me of what happened right after this photo was taken. I was pretty close to the side of the road. A Boston Police officer, who was on the side of the road, in front of the barriers for crowd control, saw me looking like this and walked over to me. She took my arm, said, "Come on. Let's go" and started jogging. I started jogging again, and the crowd let out a cheer so loud it felt like the Patriots had just performed their miracle SuperBowl comeback again. She ran with me a few steps and then let me go on so she could return to her post. What a moment! The boost I got from that kept me going to the finish.

It was my slowest Marathon (more than 20 minutes slower than my fastest - which is still not fast!) but probably my favorite in terms of how I felt at the end. You can see it on my face as I cross the finish line.

So, even though the training is somewhat awful and the fundraising can be stressful, I hope to be back on the team for 2018. The excitement of being in Boston on Marathon weekend, the camaraderie of the DFMC team, the knowledge that we are running for a purpose larger than ourselves, the memory of loved ones lost, the support of the volunteers, the encouragement of the spectators, and the feeling after crossing the finish line: The intensity of all of these feelings makes the difficulties of training and fundraising worthwhile! 
 
It has been said that happiness lies in the joy of achievement (paraphrasing Franklin D. Roosevelt), and I am certainly a living example of that right now! Thank you for sharing this journey with me!