Holy Cross Students Take on a Marathon to Advance Cancer Research

Committed to making a difference advancing cancer research, seven students from Holy Cross formed a team, trained for nearly a year, and completed the 26.2-mile Boston Marathon on April 20. In so doing, they raised more than $21,000 — and counting — to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Katelyn Tulp ’09, Alexandra Montgomery ’10, Kevin Carroll ’10, Dan Phelan ’10, Ali Mersereau ’10, Matt Griffiths ’10 and Caitlin Murdoch ’11 ran as members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

All members of the Holy Cross team started the long training process with their own reasons for running and eventually came together to do so as a team in August. While the months of practice were extremely tiring at times, all of the runners say it was worth it in the end, many feeling a personal connection to the work of Dana-Farber.

Mersereau, who lost her brother to cancer last year, expressed the general sentiment: “I wanted to do the marathon because it is an event that challenges participants to live life fully and push ourselves beyond what we ever thought we could do. I think it’s a true testament to the way my brother and others fighting for a cure live their lives.”

For others, the thrill of running the marathon alone was enough to keep them training hard. Many grew up in the Boston area and can remember forming a dream to take part in the marathon as they watched the annual event. The dream became more realistic for Tulp during her freshman year at Holy Cross when a group of seniors in the running club ran the marathon. This year, as co-chair of the club, Tulp was able to do the same.

“It just sort of came together and worked out that I could run the marathon my senior year,” she said. “The fact that we are running for this great cause just adds to the experience.”

When joining the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, each member promised to raise at least $3,000 for the cause. Many Holy Cross team members have far surpassed this goal and hope to continue to raise money before the May 20 deadline.

Running for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute proved to be a mutually beneficial experience for the runners. Not only did they raise money and awareness for the cause, but they gained much needed inspiration as they ran through each checkpoint and up Heartbreak Hill. Supporters recognized their Dana-Farber shirts and did not hesitate to yell out each runners' name, which were written on the front.

“It was really great running for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute because people would call out ‘Go Dana-Farber! Thank you for running!’,” said Mersereau. “It really pulled me along to hear people cheering for me and telling me I could do it, especially in the later miles.”

Tulp agreed, already looking forward to the prospect of running the marathon for a cause again in the future.

“The bottom line is I just enjoyed myself so much. I felt special, part of something so grand. Dana-Farber is so wonderful I couldn’t imagine running a marathon without them.” The institute hopes to raise $4.85 million for cancer research before the end of May.

By Mary Moczula ’11

Watch the students talk about the Boston Marathon several days before the event on New England Cable News’ "Worcester News Tonight" »

Pictured: Alexandra Montgomery ’10, Ali Mersereau ’10, and Katelyn Tulp ’09.