Westborough Woman Running 120 Miles To Benefit Ukrainian Refugees

WESTBOROUGH, MA — Imagine running from Westborough to Springfield and back. Now imagine running that same distance across some of the tallest mountains in North America.

Westborough native and Somerville resident Samantha Thompson is about to do just that. In August, she'll compete in the TransRockies Run, an unbelievable 120-mile race across the central Rocky Mountains in Colorado where runners scale peaks topping out at 14,000 feet — higher than two Mount Washingtons stacked on top of each other.

Thompson will be running the race to help feed refugees fleeing Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian assault. Thompson has a goal of raising $5,000 for the charity World Central Kitchen by July 1.

"As the news pours in about more and more families fleeing Ukraine, I think I can speak for a lot of us and say how helpless we feel sitting here in the US watching all of this unfold," Thompson said in her fundraising appeal. "An amazing opportunity presented itself to fundraise for a charity of my choice and I found a simple, yet remarkable, charity that provides meals for families in dire situations across the globe."

This isn't the first time Thompson has used an incredible athletic feat to help people in need. In 2014, she ran with a team from San Francisco to New York City to raise money for cancer. She covered 502 miles of the approximately 4,000-mile distance and raised $8,000.

Although Thompson has a goal of $5,000, she's hoping to go higher. With just about two months to go before the deadline, she had raised just under $2,200 toward the minimum goal as of Wednesday.

"A donation of any size will help these families who are in desperate need of food as they leave their lives behind," she said.

To donate, visit Thompson's fundraising page.