Kelsey Duggan to Run Boston Marathon to Benefit the Jimmy Fund

Kelsey Duggan, a Chelmsford resident and employee of Dana Farber and The Jimmy Fund, is running the Boston Marathon on April 18 to benefit cancer research. As such, she has raised thousands of dollars to earn a spot in the race, with the proceeds going directly to the Jimmy Fund. 

Though it is just her first Boston Marathon, and her first overall marathon, she is excited for the experience to be able to participate in such an iconic event, and for such a worthwhile cause. Patch spoke with Duggan about her training and her thoughts leading up to the big race.  

What is your previous running experience? I actually didn’t really run in school, I’ve always been...somewhat athletic and did some sports in high school and stuff, but I never ran.

I actually work for Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund and they get a certain number of (runners) to the Boston Marathon. And so we have to fundraise $3200 and get the number and then we run. So it’s kind of big in my workplace.

Have you run any previous marathons? I did do a half marathon...the summer of 2009, I guess. I did the Run to Remember in Boston. It starts in the seaport and just goes down Memorial Drive and that was great. It was a pretty easy, flat course. But that’s the longest I’ve run before this.

What do you like or dislike about marathon training? Since I’m running through a nonprofit, through Dana Farber, they kind of set you up with your own team...there’s a team of people and it’s really fun, we go on group runs on the weekends, and they’re just really supportive, having a whole team of people behind you to train and stuff, that’s just awesome.

It’s kind of hard, since I work in Boston, and then communting on top of that...so I guess just the training and the amount of time it takes during the week. The weekends are great, you know, you go for long runs but it gets a little tiring.

 The fact that this winter’s been so bad, and I’ve been running inside a lot, that seems that the treadmill and watching TV while you’re running only entertains me for so long. So it gets a little boring after six miles running on the treadmill. I’ve been trying to work the training into my commute, so like last night...I left work and then ran to one of the T stations in Medford, so there’s about ten miles, so I kind of worked my training into the commuting.

How do you think you will feel crossing the finish line on Marathon Monday? I’ve heard from a lot of people, and especially since I work at Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund, and....there’s a whole team of people that actually work on the marathon, I’ve heard a lot of very inspiring stories. It’s really emotional, I guess. I’m excited to be there the day of the marathon and experience all the excitement.

Actually I get paired up with a Jimmy Fund Clinic cancer patient. They meet us at mile 25 and they run with us a little ways,...they jump out there and they cheer you on and they’re there for you to meet you at mile 25.

I need to make it to mile 25 to meet my patient partner. So I’m really excited about that.

What in your mind sets the Boston Marathon apart from other marathons? I feel like Boston is just very prestigious.

I actually was on vacation in Italy and we were talking to some people from the States...and we were talking about how compared to New York, and Boston, and all of the marathons, that they thought Boston was the top marathon to do. And that’s kind of how I feel.

 Do you have any prerace rituals? Just stretching  and making sure all my clothes are the ones I normally wear. I mean, I got these...great socks from one of my friends that ran a marathon so I'm definitely going to be sure to wear these socks, they’re padded and stuff, so I’ll be sure to wear those on race day.

I guess, I have to eat breakfast, a decent sized breakfast in the morning, and be up and awake a little bit before. I can’t just wake up, eat breakfast, and run out the door and go to a race, I need to be up for a couple hours before so I can wake up and be stretched out.

I’m just really excited to be able to run this. I know ... my time isn’t obviously going to be like a qualifying time, because I got in there through a nonprofit, but ... I was really excited to be able to run it through Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund. It’s very inspiring and all the people that work on it are just awesome, so it’s been a great experience ... fundraising and raising money for the institute.