After completing my first marathon and bandit Boston Marathon run in 1995 (finish time: 3:45) I realized that I had caught the running bug as I crossed the finish line and couldn't WAIT to do it again next year. I also was impressed and inspired by all the runners who combined the goal and challenge of tackling the marathon distance with fundraising for important charities. My first "official" marathon was the 1996 Boston Marathon with the wonderful Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team. The 2008 Boston Marathon marks my 13th year running with this amazing group of runners raising funds for an amazing institute and hospital. And over the years I have discovered that the individuals who choose to run a marathon with a charity are typically fun, interesting, intelligent, kind and socially responsible individuals. In other words, Good People!! In fact, I would say that I consider the DFMC team, which includes all the patients, their families, survivors, doctors and loved ones we have lost, to be my extended family - a group of people with whom I am honored to be associated.



It was great fun to see my Boston marathon times drop significantly those first couple years. My 1996 finish time was 3:21 and in 1997 I was THRILLED to break 3 hours with a finish time of 2:57. Alas, those big PR jumps came to pretty much of a halt, but I was able to maintain a sub 3 hour pace for some time -with my PR marathon time of 2:53 in 2003. Now that I am 43 and in the Masters Division I would be very happy with finishing at ANY pace! But enough about times and pace - what I MOST LOVE about running the Boston Marathon with DFMC is making a difference in the lives of those who have been touched with cancer along with the thrill of watching our "freshman" runners finish their first marathon. Tomorrow we have our first group run out of the Mt. Auburn Club in Cambridge. Here was go again....