The Jimmy Fund Walk returned to the Boston Marathon course for the primary time because the begin of the pandemic on Sunday, as 1000’s of walkers got down to elevate tens of millions of {dollars} for most cancers sufferers and analysis at Dana-Farber.
“It feels like old times to be back in person this year,” Zack Blackburn, director of the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, advised the Herald on Sunday as about 6,000 individuals walked throughout 4 totally different routes to assist grownup and pediatric affected person care and most cancers analysis at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The Jimmy Fund Walk is the best single-day fundraising stroll within the nation. This yr’s occasion is predicted to boost greater than $8 million by the top of October as extra donations are available in over the subsequent few weeks, Blackburn mentioned.
Chris Phung walks the marathon route every year in reminiscence of his brother and his mom. His brother handed away from most cancers — a type of leukemia — when he was 14 in 1995. Phung’s mom handed away from most cancers 15 years later.
“The progress is truly incredible, but the job’s not done,” mentioned Phung, who’s the group captain of The A Team and a member of the stroll’s advisory board.
“Looking back to my brother’s treatment, it’s completely night and day,” he added of the most cancers remedy developments over the a long time.
The A Team has raised greater than $27,000 this yr and greater than $770,000 in whole through the years.
The 4 totally different route choices for the stroll are: Marathon Walk (26.2 miles from Hopkinton); Half Marathon Walk (13.1 miles from Wellesley); 10K Walk (6.2 miles from Newton); and 5K Walk (3.1 miles from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute).
Walkers got here throughout poster-sized images of sufferers — Jimmy Fund Walk Heroes — displayed at every mile marker and half-mile marker as inspiration. All 4 routes of the Jimmy Fund Walk finish on the Copley Square end line.
“There’s nothing like being out here and crossing that finish line in Copley Square,” Blackburn mentioned. “It’s what we’ve been missing these last couple of years.”
In addition to the in-person occasion on Sunday, there was nonetheless a digital possibility this yr. About 1,800 folks participated just about — of their neighborhood, on a favourite mountain climbing path, or on a treadmill at house.
The Jimmy Fund Walk in its 34-year historical past has raised greater than $160 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
“We have the best researchers in the world working on new discoveries and treatments, and they’re bringing that right to the patients,” Blackburn mentioned. “You see all the stats and how things have improved, but there’s so much more work to be done. It’s why we’re still out here after 34 years of this, and we’re not going anywhere.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”