Better by the Mile: Woman running Boston Marathon for family fight
By Todd Kazakiewich
Click here for updates on this story
QUINCY, Massachusetts (WCVB) — Running her first Marathon will be a major milestone for 20-year-old Quincy native and Boston College sophomore Grace Connolly, but setting a personal record is not really why she’s running the Boston Marathon.
Her two biggest reasons — and inspirations — are her parents, Brian and Jill.
“My mom was diagnosed in December of 2012 with a rare form of blood cancer known as Multiple Myeloma, and my Dad was diagnosed with large B-cell, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the spring of 2022,” Grace Connolly said.
“I had a stem cell transplant in 2015. Multiple Myeloma has no cure. So I’m on a trial protocol,” said Grace’s mom, Jill Adduci Connolly. “My husband is still a patient in there. He is doing OK, but nonetheless.
Grace’s parents are both patients at Dana Farber, so she knows that the money she raises from her run will make a big impact through the Jimmy Fund.
“100% of the funds raised by the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team support the Claudia Adams Barr Program, and innovative basic cancer research at Dana Farber, which is just so important because it funds cancer research at its earliest stage,” said Colleen Fafara, associate director of The Jimmy Fund.
Grace’s grit and determination are plain to see — determination to finish the race on Marathon Monday, and raise money to reach cancer’s finish line.
“So many people have this, like, really difficult experience, but so many people have reached out to me, like, ‘Oh, I lost somebody, my parent, my sister, like, my friend, has cancer,'” Grace said.
Her pursuit has an even greater purpose.
“It’s not just for my parents, for all of them too, because you don’t meet someone who isn’t connected to cancer in some way,” she said.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.