Selectmen Runs to Help Cancer Research

Years ago, Brian Herr sat down at his desk and felt something around his middle that gave him pause and sparked him to action.

“I looked down at myself and realized that I didn’t have the figure I once did,” Herr said.

Never one to accept the status quo, Herr decided to take up running. Today, his running is saving lives.

“I literally went home that day and started running errands,” Herr said. “At first I’d run a half mile to the store to grab a gallon of orange juice and run back, then I worked my way up a little more each day. This year, Herr will be participating in his 25th Boston Marathon with no end date in site.

“I am one of the fortunate ones who has been able to run on the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) Team all 23 years,” Herr said. “My knees, my back and my ankles have all held up. I was one of the founding members of the team, and I’m still running at 49.”

Herr has plans to break 62 runs, the current record.

“I have no intention of stopping,” Herr said.

Back in 1990, when the DFMC was founded, Herr was one of only 19 runners to participate on the team. At that time, 19 runners raised $51,000 which was then matched by a couple in Florida bringing the team total to $102,000  in one year’s time. An amazing feat.

“In 23 years, we have raised 55 million give or take,” Herr said. “Every penny we raise goes to the Dana Farber labs. I’ve been to the labs and I’ve seen the breakthroughs. I know our sweat money is truly making a difference.”

Thanks to the DFMC team, and many others like them, the brain cancer survival rate in a child tops ninety percent today.

“That’s the special thing for me as a founding member,” Herr said. “I am tremendously proud of the running and the work that Dana Farber does. It makes me very proud to know that there is no cost for raising the funds, and families lives are changing because of the work we are doing .”

A seasoned runner now, Herr takes time to run whenever he can.

“I don’t have time to train on any kind of schedule today,” Herr explained. “Instead, I find pieces of time. I love to run and I do it whenever I can.”

Herr’s children may soon be taking up the torch as well, and his wife has run two marathons with him.

“All five of my children have run at least a mile with me," Herr said, " and my 11-year-old is considering running the last six miles.”

Herr notes that the fight is far from over.

“Cure rates are on the rise,” Herr said. “I don’t need to run a marathon, and every year around mile 25 I say things to myself I won’t repeat, but then I get to the finish line and it’s all forgotten. This fight is far from over, and as long as there is a need, and I am able, I will run.”

To donate to the cause please visit www.rundfmc.org and then enter the name of the runner you wish to support.