Running Against Cancer - 2011 DFCI BAA Half Marathon team

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this email finds you and your family doing well. As you may know already, I am a member of the Dana Farber BAA Half Marathon team, a team of over 500 runners who are Running the Race Against Cancer at the BAA Half Marathon next weekend on October 9, 2011. When you support one of us, you supply critical funds to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) that enable the work of some of the brightest minds in science and some of the most talented clinicians to care for patients confronting cancer. Personally, I hope to raise $3000 for the DFCI on my way to running my first half marathon since my last successful Run Against Cancer as a part of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team at the Boston Marathon in 2009.

For myself, the fight against cancer hit our family when my younger brother, Brian, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) in the fall of 1993, I lost Brian - my quiet, funny, incredibly talented and wonderful brother – two years later on Oct 5, 1995, just shy of his 18^th birthday. On October 7, 1995, I ran my first half marathon and this will be my first fall half since that year. Almost 16 years later, I still miss him terribly, but am constantly reminded of his joy in what was important: his family and friends, his home town, sports, being outdoors, and keeping a sense of humor, even through tough times.

More recently, we have lost others to this disease, Nate’s cousin’s wife, Linda to breast cancer in 2010, Nate’s Mom, Ruth, to ovarian cancer in 2009, my great aunt Mary Louise to colon cancer in 2008, not to mention those who have fought and beaten cancer or are fighting to successfully kick the butt of this disease!

I know you also have family, friends, and colleagues who have battled this disease or you have fought it yourself. There are many incredible efforts out there to support the fight against cancer, but I hope you will join me in supporting Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund.

You can make a donation either at my BAA Half-Marathon webpage: http://www.rundanafarber.org/baahalf2011/rowgirlgoesrunning

or donate through the mail. Checks should be made out to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and sent to me at 11 Woodland Drive, Underhill, VT 05489.Thank you so much for any amount you can give and for supporting my run and the BAA Half Marathon team.

All the best from Vermont!

Kerry