April 13, 2007

MGHers run for a cure on Marathon Monday

After many months of dedicated training, 30 MGHers will lace up their sneakers and pound the pavement April 16 in the 111th Boston Marathon. These devoted athletes will earn more than bragging rights when they finish — they are among the 120 members of the MGH marathon team called "Fighting Kids' Cancer ... One Step at a Time," and are running to raise money for pediatric cancer programs and research at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC).

Howard Weinstein, MD, chief of the MGHfC Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Unit,
started the team in 1998 after one of his young patients died from a highly aggressive
sarcoma. While helping find a cure for children's cancers is one motivation for the runners, they also have an even more immediate inspiration — more than 50 team members will run in honor of a child currently undergoing treatment at the MGHfC.
This year's fundraising goal is $1 million. In the past 10 years, the team has raised more than $4 million for the MGHfC.