LETTER: 18-Year-Old Runs Marathon to Support Cancer Research

Letter submitted by Emily Blake

I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones happy and healthy at the beginning of 2012. Although at this time many of us find ourselves letting our New Year’s Resolutions slip away, it is at this moment where I am feeling most committed to mine. I am dedicated to running this year’s Boston Marathon for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Currently, I am an 18-year-old freshman at Boston College, studying in the Connell School of Nursing.

Living in Hopkinton, at the start of this 26.2-mile race, it has always been an aspiration of mine to join the thousands of athletes that run each year. The excitement that fills our small town on Marathon Monday is tangible and fills the town with spirit. After finally turning 18 in June, I neglected most of the new privileges that came with this birthday such as buying lottery tickets and tobacco, knowing that the only one I truly wanted to embrace was my ability to run in the marathon in April. I ran sporadically over the summer waiting for my chance to apply for a fundraising team in September. After submitting my application to Dana Farber, I anxiously awaited their review of thousands of applications nationwide, hoping to be chosen for this opportunity. The exciting news finally arrived, and since then I have been sticking to a training program which outlines each day’s mileage.

Choosing Dana Farber as the charity to run for was not a difficult decision. As a nursing student, I look forward to the day where I can ease patients’ suffering and help them look forward to a quick and full recovery. However, the four year wait before obtaining my degree seemed far too long. After graduating, I would like to work at Children’s Hospital in Boston on the pediatric oncology floor, but I would like the opportunity to help cancer patients now. After mentioning to family and friends I am strongly considering pediatric oncology, their reactions usually include, “Emily, that will be too sad!” However, I know that by working with children with cancer, I will have the chance to witness unparalleled resilience, which will be a great privilege and will be an inspiration in my own life. The money generated from donations for my run all go to research in various types of cancers, as Dana Farber is a renowned cancer institution.

My inspiration for running the marathon draws from the spirit of victims of cancer and the strength of its survivors. Running mile after mile on a Sunday morning long training run cannot be compared to the determination needed by someone diagnosed with this disease. Since I am studying at Boston College, I have the unique opportunity to train on the aptly named “Heartbreak Hill.”  I know that on Marathon Monday, upon reaching “Heartbreak Hill” I will be overwhelmed with fulfillment that together we had the opportunity to provide tremendous support to a group of extraordinarily deserving cancer patients.

If you would like to support remarkable cancer research at the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge, please log on and donate at http://www.runDFMC.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge, click support a runner, and enter my name.

Thank you,

Emily Blake