LYNNFIELD — Lifelong runner Kristan Murphy is participating in the Boston Marathon this April for the 16th year on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team, which, in its 36 years, has raised $132 million for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.
Murphy originally joined the Dana-Farber team in 2009 because her sister was a member of the group. In the years since, her experiences with cancer have gotten more personal, making her running even more purposeful.
“I never really know how to answer that question,” Murphy responded when asked how she got involved with Dana-Farber. “When people say what brought you to Dana Farber, well, my sister was on the team, I wanted to run a marathon, and cancer was an amazing cause to run for and raise money. But then it sort of turned into something different.”
In 2010, Murphy ran in honor of her uncle, who passed away from cancer. Three years later, she joined Dana-Farber’s In-Memory program, where she was paired up to run for a family who lost their eight-year-old daughter, Lia, to cancer.
More tragedy struck when, during her first year running for Lia’s family, the Boston Marathon was bombed. Murphy, running with Lia’s brother for the last mile, was stopped by police after the two bombs went off.
After reconvening with Lia’s family, they stayed by Murphy’s side while she contacted her own family. In the 12 years since, she’s fostered a deep connection with a family that participates in their own fundraising efforts with the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Jimmy Fund Walk.
Those bonds have also been formed with some of the other 500 Dana-Farber team members. Regularly organized group runs allow participants to swap stories and learn what motivates the person running next to them.
“There are people on the team that are running with stage 4 cancer, there are people that are survivors, there are people that have lost friends or family, and they run in memory,” Murphy said. “There are people that choose to run for Dana Farber on their 10-year survival day. So, I would say everybody has a story and a reason for making an impact.”
Murphy herself was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2021 after a routine mammogram. But thanks to the efforts of the medical professionals at Dana-Farber, she now only needs annual check-ins every April.
“I get a little anxious just at that one time of year, but for the most part, it’s behind me, and I feel very lucky about that,” Murphy said. “The care and the brilliance and the kindness at Dana-Farber is just unmatched.”
Another change that Murphy noticed is that she’s slowed down since she first ran the Boston Marathon at age 40. But the sense of purpose that comes from running for research that is saving lives has only grown stronger.
To fundraise, Murphy goes the more traditional route, opting to send out letters instead of holding events or designing merchandise. So far, those efforts have raised around $225,000, 100% of which has gone towards the Claudia Adams Barr Program.
Now, because of efforts from people like Murphy, breakthroughs in cancer treatment have made a diagnosis of breast cancer, for example, significantly less likely to be fatal.
“We all have people in our lives or no people in our lives that have been impacted by cancer, and you can feel so helpless to do something about it,” Murphy said. “So, it feels like something I will always want to do as long as I can do it. As long as I can run, I will run for cancer research.”
To support her fundraising goal for the 2025 Boston Marathon, donate at https://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/site/TR?fr_id=2310&pg=personal&px=1070897.
