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| Ryan Bocuzzi and his fellow teacher Richard Connolly ran the Boston Marathon for Casa Myrna Vasquez |
Hopedale native Michael J. Christie quit cross-country running after junior high school. But he’s determined to run the 26 miles from Hopkinton to Boston this morning — for his late grandfather.
Mr. Christie, 32, will be among an estimated 1,500-plus people running for a charity in the 110th Boston Marathon.
There are 18 official charities, up from 15 last year when each one raised an average of $500,000 for research and education.
Mr. Christie, who’s running for the Massachusetts chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, is a salesman living in Chicago with his wife and infant daughter.
The late John V. Stanton Jr. of Westboro, his grandfather, will be on Mr. Christie’s mind throughout the race. Mr. Stanton died in 1997 at age 73, having spent his final 15 years with Alzheimer’s. The last few years were at Thornton Nursing Home in Northboro.
By the time Mr. Christie returned from Marquette University in 1996, Mr. Stanton’s recollection of his first grandson was cloudy.
But Mr. Christie still remembers the old guy with the booming laugh.
During summer vacations at Hampton Beach in New Hampshire, his grandfather would wake him early while the rest of the family slept. The pair would go for walks for hours along the beach, Mr. Stanton reflecting on his Army days and fielding questions about life.
“My grandfather had nine children,” Mr. Christie said. “He just really loved his kids and grandkids.”
So far, the Alzheimer’s Association has raised about $125,000 through the marathon, with Mr. Christie bringing in $6,500 this year. David J. Camire, co-founder of Coolrunning.com, calls running for a cause “the biggest running club in the country.”
Stephanie Sandler, CEO of the Giving Back Fund, which advises pro athletes on how to make a charitable impact, said funds raised from walkathons and marathons exceed $91 million a year nationwide. “A lot of programs rely on them as their primary source of fundraising.”
The statistics bode well for this morning when 22,000 runners are expected to line up, the strongest field since the 100th race in 1996.
Scores of the participants will be running for unofficial local causes. For example, 17 staffers from Quinsigamond School raised $1,700 for the Worcester Relay for Life program, which raises money for the American Cancer Society. The Worcester elementary school has rallied around fourth-grader Kyel Liseno, who has brain cancer. For the fundraiser, students paid 50 cents to sign one of the marathoner’s T-shirts, while adults paid $1. Thursday ended with a schoolwide assembly for the runners.
Worcester Academy’s Richard Connolly and Ryan Boccuzzi have raised an impressive $12,000 for Casa Myrna Vazquez, a Boston domestic abuse shelter. The rookie teachers have used the Web to generate funds. Their Web sites are www.firstgiving.com/richardconnolly and www.firstgiving.com/rjboccuzzi.
The Boston Marathon’s official charity-running movement took off in 1989 when a group ran for the American Liver Foundation. They were motivated by Evan O’Reilly, son of former Boston Bruins coach Terry O’Reilly, who was battling a form of liver cancer.
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute became the Boston Marathon’s second charity group a year later, and nonprofits continued to join steadily.
Worcester’s Jamie Sills, who doesn’t have a personal connection to a cause, said a group’s size has recruiting pull. Ms. Sills, a kindergarten teacher at Worcester’s Francis J. McGrath Elementary School, running her first marathon, joined the Liver Foundation effort because they’ll bring 244 runners today.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” the 32-year-old said. “But every year around October I get to eight, 10 miles, then it dwindles.”
This will be Julie E. Gerrish’s second Boston Marathon after an eight-year hiatus. The stay-at-home mother from Brimfield is running for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, although she doesn’t have a loved one with the disease. She’s raised $3,000 since Jan. 1. “Cancer can strike any time,” the 36-year-old said.
Many of these programs have an admissions process, and participants then frequently gather for intense regimens. The Framingham-based Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which has raised more than $652,000, had an unmonitored daily program. Group runs left Wellesley each Saturday for five months. Most of the society’s 140 runners have minimal experience, said Stacy A. Devine, the society’s senior campaign manager and a Shrewsbury native who is running today.
Overall, the groups tend to be inexperienced marathoners.
“It gives that group a unique perspective and attitude, and excitement that’s different from the rest of the race,” said Marc Chalufour, a Boston Athletic Association spokesman.
In Chicago, far from the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s team, Michael Christie tuned up for his first Boston Marathon by running in the Milwaukee Marathon in October.
Christie, who has made it back to Massachusetts for three runs since January, said he’ll have another cause in mind. Around Christmas, soon after he joined the team, Mr. Christie’s grandmother, M. Katherine (Mayhew) Stanton, was diagnosed with lung cancer. She lives in Westboro.
“We all had a great relationship with my grandfather,” Christie said. “So this is really my opportunity to make sure we honor and recognize the struggle we all had with his Alzheimer’s. Especially while my grandmother can appreciate it.”
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