Waltham Dad On A Mission: A Boston Marathon Story

As a war veteran wanting to give back to his community, Thomas Strzempek had a lot of different organizations close to his heart. But two years ago when his son, Peter, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 4, Thomas knew he wanted to work with Joslin Diabetes Center, a world-renowned diabetes treatment and research facility in Boston.

Thomas will be running his first Boston Marathon as part of Team Joslin in April. He says his son, who is a patient at Joslin Diabetes Center, expects him to win. While Thomas is working to manage that expectation, he says there is one expectation he will not manage: his son’s desire for a world without type 1 diabetes.

“I am partnering with Joslin Diabetes Center because I feel they are the best organization to help Peter's vision become reality,” Thomas said.

His goal is to raise $1,000 for every mile he runs - a total of $26,200. Thomas wants to pay it forward and to help support research to create better treatment options and ultimately a cure. Thomas says Joslin has helped not only his son Peter, but his entire family during the diagnosis and life adjustments.

To follow Thomas and his journey to the starting line you can follow him on Instagram, @teamjoslin2019 and for more information and to donate to Thomas’ run, visit his crowdrise site and blog.