Running for A Cure

50 marathons. 50 states. All after age 50. It finishes April 20, 2020, with the Boston to Big Sur Challenge. Two hilly marathons, two coasts, six days. 

How Running 50 States Began

For almost 50 years, I was an overweight, out of shape, stressed out finance/mergers & acquisition lawyer. Afternoon lattes and cookies fueled my late nights. By age 48, more than 100 pounds overweight, I needed a change. And slowly it began. First I walked. Then I ran.

For my 50th birthday, my first half marathon. At age 52, my first marathon. On a plane to NYC, after finishing my third marathon a year later, I read a story about the 50 State Marathon Club. I thought, wow, that’s crazy! By the time I landed in NYC, I was all in.

A few months later, in April 2010, I ran the Big Sur Marathon and learned about the Boston to Big Sur Challenge. Boston Marathon on Monday and Big Sur Marathon the following Sunday. I decided then and there, I would finish the 50 states with the Boston to Big Sur Challenge. Boston #50 and Big Sur #51.

The Finish Line is Here

Unbelievably, at almost age 63, eleven years after running my first marathon, those plans and dreams are coming true!  On April 20, 2020 I will run the Boston Marathon (#50) on the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team to raise fund for cancer research. (And then board a plane to head west to Big Sur!)

A Disease That Affects us All

While cancer touched many friends and family I care about over the years, when we’re young, it’s easy to think, “that’s terrible, but it won’t happen to me.”

But the statistics are clear. Almost 39% of us will be diagnosed with cancer during our lifetime. Aunts, uncles, cousins, children and friends, including marathoners, Ironmen, ultramarathoners.

ALL OF US, regardless of age, background, fitness, education or what we may have overcome or experienced in our lives – can hear those dreaded words – you have cancer.

Running to Find a Cure on the Dana Farber Team

On April 20, 2020, I’ll join hundreds of Dana-Farber runners taking to the streets to participate in the 124th Boston Marathon®.

One hundred percent of every dollar raised by the DFMC team supports the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. These funds are fueling some of today’s most promising basic cancer research.

Please Donate

Please support my Boston to Big Sur Challenge by donating to my Dana Farber Marathon Challenge.

Thank you for your support! Let’s help get to the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.

And join me here and at Fitter After 50 on Facebook and Instagram, as I record the last part of my journey to 50 marathons in 50 states after age 50!