April 17, 2007
Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge runners go the extra mile for cancer research
At the Boston Marathon® starting line, Leslie Barron prepares to tackle the 26.2-mile course.
While running a grueling 26.2-mile marathon requires commitment and dedication, for some, just completing the course is not enough. The runners who finished the 111th Boston Marathon® on behalf of Dana-Farber transformed their strides toward the finish line into strides toward cures for cancer.
Each of the 553 members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team combined months of difficult physical training with an intensive fundraising effort. On April 16, their hard work paid off with a record-breaking $4.25 million raised to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber.
Established in 1987 by Dana-Farber Trustees J. Wayne and Delores Barr Weaver in honor of Delores' mother, the program provides support for researchers exploring the genetic and biological mysteries of cancer. As they have every year since 1990, the Weavers made a personal "challenge" gift of $250,000 to support the DFMC team's 2007 fundraising efforts.
"The Barr Program has enabled Dana-Farber researchers to explore avenues that have already led to treatments and better cure rates for cancer patients," said Delores Barr Weaver. "Cancer is my own personal enemy, and the DFMC runners make a direct impact in the mission to find cures and to eventually eliminate the disease. I will not rest until that is accomplished."
Running on hope
Personal connections to the disease are what fuel many runners' desires to go the extra mile in the DFMC.
When Leslie Barron of Fresno, Calif., lost her husband, Tim, to multiple myeloma in 2004, she vowed to continue his fight against cancer. After volunteering at the marathon for the DFMC team several times, she resolved to run it herself in 2007. Although she had never attempted a marathon before, Barron began preparing herself for the challenge. "Every single day I was fueled by the heart and courage of cancer patients," she said. "I brought them with me on every training run and all the way to the finish line."
Barron did more than just give her all on the marathon course — she was one of the top fundraisers on the DFMC team in 2007.
"Fundraising is more important to me than the 26.2 miles," Barron said. "I needed Dana-Farber to give me a venue through which to help cancer patients and their families."
Against the odds
Roy Dennehy powers past the 25-mile mark despite undergoing surgery just weeks before the event.
Roy Dennehy of Windham, N.H., completed three Boston Marathons on behalf of Dana-Farber between 2000 and 2003, running in honor of a friend who lost her battle with cancer. But several months after he crossed the finish line in 2003, Dennehy's support for the cause became even more personal when he went from a DFMC runner to a Dana-Farber patient.
Dennehy underwent surgery and treatment for skin cancer and took the next two years off, determined to finish his fourth marathon in 2007. He completed the months of difficult physical training and fundraising required of all DFMC team members, but in March, Dennehy suffered another setback. Dana-Farber doctors discovered cancer in the lymph nodes in his neck. Before Dennehy underwent surgery to have them removed, he vowed to not only continue with his 2007 fundraising efforts, but also to complete the marathon. On April 16, he did just that. Since he began running for Dana-Farber in 2000, Dennehy, a DFMC board member, has raised more than $157,000 for the Barr Program.
"If it weren't for Dana-Farber, I wouldn't run marathons," said Dennehy. "It isn't worth it to run for yourself. We'll make a difference in somebody's life down the road. There's no doubt about it."
