Melissa Russell
Several Belmont residents were among the thousands of runners at the starting line of the Boston Marathon on Monday. They were all running to raise money and awareness to fight deadly diseases.
Jessica Hajjar, a middle school teacher in Newton, is running in honor of her late mother, whose name she has asked to keep private, who died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in November 2023 at age 65.
It was Hajjar’s first marathon.
“My mother was an incredible woman, a lifelong caretaker for our family and everyone around her,” she said in an interview before the race.
Hajjar’s mother was a nurse, and when she was diagnosed, she tried to keep her illness to herself for as long as possible in order to care for others.
“The idea that she would need care herself was not supposed to be in the cards,” Hajjar said. “But Mom said, ‘You make plans, and God laughs.’”
Hajjar’s mother lived for two years after her diagnosis.
“It is one of the most dark, winding, treacherous diseases that exists today. It is unbelievable there is no cure,” she said.
Hajjar, along with her younger brother Matthew, ran to raise funds for Compassionate Care ALS, an organization that provides assistive devices for ALS patients at no charge. When her mother was ill, CCALS provided an assistive device that allowed her to communicate through eye movement.
When her mother died, Hajjar decided to turn the family’s pain into a purpose and raise funds to fight ALS.
“I want to raise money to shine a light on this dark disease and illuminate a path forward,” she said. “Nobody should lose their mom to this disease. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody.”
Laurie Nahigian and Casey Wall ran to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as members of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team (DFMC). Monday marked Nahigian’s 26th consecutive Boston Marathon and Wall’s second. Funds raised benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, which supports research in cancer’s earliest stages. According to a Dana-Farber spokesperson, the challenge has raised more than $122 million for the program in the past 35 years.
“Running and raising money for an institution that has an unwavering commitment to groundbreaking research and compassionate patient care has been a privilege,” said Nahigian. “The journey with the DFMC has been one of personal growth, resilience, and a deep commitment to making a difference in the fight against cancer.”
Nahigian’s goal is to raise $500,000 for Dana-Farber, and is about $30,000 away from that goal.
“Even when I hit it, I won’t stop running for DFMC until I can’t,” she said.
Wall said her work as a pediatric nurse practitioner at Dana-Farber gives her a unique perspective in which she can see the advances in cancer research.
“Training is always tough, but nothing like the challenge my patients and their families fight every day,” she said.
Courtney and Karen Gray are a mother-daughter team known as the Gray Girls. They also ran for Dana-Farber. This was their first marathon, and they are running in honor of Karen’s mother and Courtney’s grandmother, who lost her life to renal cancer after surviving breast cancer twice. Karen Gray credits Dana-Farber for the successful treatment of her mother’s breast cancer. Unfortunately, this year, Karen’s sister was diagnosed with breast cancer and is also receiving care through Dana-Farber.
“The care is beyond compare,” she said.
The Grays trained with the Marathon Challenge team and participated in group runs at Marathon Sports in Wellesley.
“This is more than exercise for me,” Karen said. “I have committed to be brave and ask myself why not me, as now I have a motivation bigger than myself pushing me along.”
In a message on her fundraising page, Wall said she continues to run because many of her patients, friends, and family members cheer for her along the course. Since last year, one of her young patients lost her battle with cancer, she said.
“She is just one of …too many children who have died from their cancer in the last nine months,” she wrote “Funding is needed to continue to support ongoing, life-changing research, and the money I raise will go directly to this groundbreaking research against cancer.”
Wall urged anyone who can support the fight against cancer to do so, no matter the amount.
“Every donation counts and research being done today is changing the way we treat our patients tomorrow and ultimately improving outcomes,” she said.
“I run for a day when no children lose their battle with pediatric cancer.”
To support Wall, donate at danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/Casey. To support Nahigian, go to danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/keepshowingup. And, to support Hajjar, visit givengain.com. The Gray Girls are accepting donations at bit.ly/4cSwVQO.
