Here I go again. I have joined the 2014 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team and will be running this year's Boston Marathon on April 21st, 2014. This will be my eighth marathon, fourth Boston Marathon, and fourth time running for such an amazing cause.

I will be running 26.2 miles in honor of my Mother, a breast cancer survivor. I am also running in memory of my Grandfather James H. Smith, Grandmother Nancy Baumhauer, Uncle Ray Saddington, and friends Patricia Marchetti, Frances Angino, Anthony Marchetti Sr. and Heather Thibodeau.

A full 100% of funds raised by DFMC benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in innovative cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, widely recognized as one of the largest and most successful programs of its kind. Based on rigorous and highly selective process, the Barr Program funds the brightest, most creative scientists making research discoveries that are transforming cancer treatment. Barr investigators have made numerous major breakthroughs resulting in improved survival rates and quality of life for thousands of patients everywhere.

I need your help. I have committed to raise $4000 to run for this cause but my goal is to raise over $9000. You can help by making a donation for this amazing cause, to find a cure for cancer.

Click here to support my cause.

Thank you in advance for your support. It really means so much to me.

Nancy C. Smith


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Happy Memories of 2013

It's so unfortunate the circumstances surrounding the bombing of the Boston Marathon finish line. You'll read in my next post my terrifying experiences on Monday.  I am just remembering some of the fun I had during my race on Monday.  I had the race of my life, finishing 7 minutes faster than I ever had before, finally finishing a marathon in under 4 hours, I had so much fun seeing so many funny things during the race but I now find it difficult to be excited about any of it.  Now that I'm remembering the good parts, I want to share some of my happy and funny memories with you.
First. Just after I started,
probably around mile 2, the woman running in front of me pants were only covering half her butt.  Did she not try those pants on before Monday or train in them before the marathon?  Did she gain a lot of weight during her taper? If they were falling off at mile 2, I can't imagine how much she was exposing by mile 25.
I always love seeing people running in costumes.  I ran behind a chicken the entire way.
Always one of my favorite parts of the race is running by Wellsely College through the "scream tunnel".  All the woman have signs offering kisses to the runners, some of the signs were funny and/or creative.  One girls sign, "kiss me, I'm a lady lover" made me laugh.
The entire way people cheered, "thank you Dana-Farber runners".  That was touching.
I was so excited to see my brother Jim and nephew Hunter at the bottom of Heartbreak Hill.  I was feeling a bit nauseous at that time so they only ran with me for a minute.  We didn't need to traumatize Hunter watching his Aunt puke, haha.
Once I got over heartbreak hill I was feeling good again and was so excited to see Josh and Leah, Josh holding a sign, "Go Nancy pants!". I ran a strong race from there on.  Someone near Cleveland Circle yelled, "go Nancy Smith" but I couldn't see who it was.  At mile 24 I saw Kashmir and it was perfect timing to see a familiar face.
Mile 25, the bridge over the Mass pike is where the Dana-Farber patients and families cheer.  It was amazing to see them, I waved and blew kisses.
Just after that was Kenmore, WOW!  The amount of people cheering is crazy!  I looked down at my watch and realized I would absolutely finish in under 4 hours.  That feeling was incredible!  I ran hard to the finish, giving a thumbs up to the finish line photographers.
After I crossed the finish line I was thanking and giving high fives to the volunteers.  I was on cloud 9 with my sub 4 hour/pr finish.
I saw my coach Jack just after I finished and gave him a hug, thanking him for his wise words and perfect advise to "go out slow, the race begins at mile 17".
I got my finishers medal and them immediately after that my life changed forever.  This post is only for my happy memories so I can't continue my experiences after this point. I'm happy that I now remember the joy of my day!

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1 comment:

  1. Colleen GalantiApril 17, 2013 at 9:41 PM

    Thank for sharing Nancy. It was nice to smile reading something about the Marathon. I got Jimmy's text at 2:52 with your time and a few minutes later my friend Tracy texted me to see if you were okay telling me there were explosions. I had about 10 min. of freaking out until I got confirmation from Jimmy that you were okay. I love you! Good job and be proud. Your sister, Colleen

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