Final Email

April 19, 2009

Dear Friends and Family,

Tomorrow early morning, my fellow members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) Team and I will be joining 25,000 others at the starting line of the 113^th Boston Marathon. After dedicating the past five months to training and fundraising, I can hardly believe that at this time tomorrow, I will have finished my second Boston Marathon!

Tonight was the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge Pasta Party. This annual event allows all the runners and Jimmy Fund Patient Partners to get together one last time to provide the runners with motivation before the race. We heard from many inspiring speakers – including Boston Marathon winners Bill Rodgers, Uta Pippig & Jack Fultz. We listened to a Dana-Farber doctor, also running tomorrow for DFMC, speak about the progress made at Dana-Farber through the research of the Claudia Adams Barr Program. We had a chance to take silly pictures with our 6 year old patient partner, Jaden Cabrera, knowing that the next time we see him will be tomorrow at Mile 25 of our journey to Boston.

We also watched a slideshow of over thirty pictures of the In-Memory Partners – children who have unfortunately lost their battle to cancer. Ironically, the slideshow was to the tune of the modern version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow – my Aunt Nancy’s favorite song. Although there was not a dry eye in the room, my sister and I almost felt as if our aunt was with these children somewhere. These children’s families were at the Pasta Party tonight, not because they felt that they had to be there but because they wanted to be there. They realize that Dana-Farber gave them the extra days and memories with their children.

Tomorrow when I leave Hopkinton, I will be wearing my Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge singlet. On the back of this singlet are the names of four people whose battles with cancer remind me what race I am really running in tomorrow. I run again to honor the memory of my Aunt Nancy. I know that although she lost her battle, she would be proud to know that I am doing what I can in hopes that others may be cured. I run in honor of Jaden Cabrera. I know that no one in their entire lifetime should have to face what Jaden faced in his childhood. I run in honor of Guy Alon. I know that his difficult treatments are getting him closer to a transplant this summer, and recognize that he maintains consistent optimism and strength as he supports his wife and three children. I run in honor of Jon Lin. I know that law school is difficult enough, and he will be graduating in May after fighting cancer during his law school education.

Running a marathon is hard. Fighting cancer is harder.

As I have said before, the battles these four individuals have fought, or are fighting, with cancer are not unique ones. Cancer attacks everyone around us – parents, loved ones, siblings, and children. The back of my friend Kristan’s singlet says “In Honor of Too Many.” Like Kristan, unfortunately there is not enough room on my singlet for the names of every person that I know touched by cancer. In addition to running in honor of the people on the back of my singlet, I also run in honor of all of your loved ones who are currently battling, have battled, or have unfortunately lost their fight to cancer.

If you have already donated, I thank you. If you have already donated twice, I thank you even more. If you have not donated yet and want to help me find a cure for cancer, donations can be made directly on my website (www.RunLindsRun.org) or by check, payable to “Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge” and mail it to the address listed below. If you know someone who may be interested in donating, please forward this email along to them. 100% of the money raised goes to innovative cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. If you are interested in learning about the Barr Program, please visit the website: www.RunDFMC.org

Every donation, no matter what dollar amount, will make a life-changing difference.

I thank you again for your emotional and financial support as I pursue this challenging but rewarding mission. Hopefully I will see some of you out on the course tomorrow. If you want to track me on www.baa.org, my number is 22469.

I should arrive at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Copley Square sometime before 3PM. I hope that with your help, we can all reach the ultimate finish line – a world without cancer.

With miles and miles of endless love and gratitude,

Lindsey