Over 20,000 people lined up to participate in this year’s Marine Corps Marathon and 10K. Among them were 40 runners proudly sporting bright orange running shirts. These were the 40 runners who were part of Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure’s Race Towards A Cure team.
The members of the 2011 Race Towards A Cure – MCM team were dedicated, motivated, and inspiring. From those running in memory or in honor of a loved one, to brain tumor survivors themselves, they were all running with a common goal in mind – to find a cure for brain cancer. In the months leading up to the Marathon Weekend, our runners worked hard to spread the word about their participation with Race Towards A Cure and to ask people to support them. The hard work paid off, and the runners raised an amazing $76,009!
Our top individual fundraiser, John Agee, was running in memory of Dan Case. In his fundraising letter that he sent to his friends and family, he said, “Progress has been made in the fight against brain cancer, but there is much more that needs to be done. ABC2 has steadfastly provided funding to scientists to find a cure for brain cancer and they will continue to do so with the help of its many loyal supporters.” John raised $7400 on his own and was well-rewarded at the Marathon. He says “It was quite cold that morning, but the warmth and enthusiasm from all the Marines and spectators was awesome. I got a number of shout outs from people who saw my bright orange "Race Towards A Cure" shirt. I was very impressed with the ABC2 staff and how they supported the runners and helped us raise money for this very important cause.”
Charles Vona, one of our inspiring brain tumor survivors, was also out there running in the cold. “The morning of the race was exciting. Before I was diagnosed with a brain tumor, just over two years ago, I had just completed my second Ironman triathlon. Running the Marine Corps Marathon was an emotional return to doing something I love to do. It felt good. We left DC on Monday and on Tuesday I had my scheduled 3 month MRI. Everything looked good. When the doctors asked me how I had been feeling it was fun to say, ‘Well, I ran a marathon in DC on Sunday, so pretty good I guess.’”
ABC2 would like to say thank you to all of our runners, and to everyone who supported them as they Raced Towards A Cure. To learn more about our Race Towards A Cure program, please go to www.abc2.org/racetowardsacure.
