Norwood Marathon Runners Raise Money for Cancer Research

On April 16, Thomas Ahearn and Mary Kate Bergen of Norwood, will be running in the 116th Boston Marathon to help conquer cancer as members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team.

These Norwood residents, along with Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge teammates from across the United States and around the world, will run Massachusetts’ historic marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston with a goal to raise $4.8 million for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team members must raise at least $3,500, depending on their registration. One-hundred-percent of the funds raised benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber, which funds basic research in its earliest stages, providing scientists with critical resources to test their innovative ideas. Findings from this research can provide novel clinical insights as well the foundation to seek additional federal funding support.

Since its inception in 1990, the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge has raised more than $52 million for the Barr Program. Dana-Farber Trustees Delores Barr and Wayne Weaver founded the Barr Program in 1987 to honor Mrs. Weaver’s mother, Claudia Adams Barr, who lost her battle with cancer in 1957.

In 1990, Dana-Farber was among the first charity organizations to be recognized by the B.A.A. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team offers its members extensive fundraising support, training guidance from Jack Fultz, the 1976 Boston Marathon men’s champion, plus team training runs, and volunteer opportunities for non-runners. Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge runners who are not time-qualified for the Boston Marathon receive an invitational entry into the race.

To contribute to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge or to support a runner, go online to www.RunDFMC.org or contact the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge office at (617) 632-1970 or dfmc@dfci.harvard.edu. Follow DFMC on Facebook: www.facebook.com/marathonchallenge.