Last month’s Boston 2 Big Sur challenge was the culmination of over a decade of training, running and fundraising for cancer research. The races were everything I had hoped they would be and it truly felt like the exclamation point on this period of my life. The weather was nearly perfect for each day, my body held up great and the travel in between(with a 10 month old Cooper) went very smooth. I’m grateful for the support of my wife, brother and family to be able to plan and accomplish this feat. I never could have done this without the generosity of my donors.

I’ve tried to “stop running” the Boston Marathon a few times now but first my Dad’s passing, the 2013 bombings, meeting my future wife and finally a pandemic kept pushing me back towards that Patriot’s Day Starting Line. At this point it’s become a tradition and certainly not the easiest thing for me to walk away from. Finally, I am at peace knowing that I will not run in 2023. I look forward to returning to the course each fall with Team Kroot as we begin to approach $700,000 raised since we first set out on this mission.

While I’ve never had the disease, I’ve always grappled with the thought and statement that Cancer took a significant toll on my life. I’m not comfortable using the word “survivor” because I believe that can only be reserved to those who have had a personal diagnosis. Cancer did define a good part of my 20s first taking my Mom from my brother, sister and I back in 2008. My experience as a caregiver for my Dad consisted of spending over 100 days in a hospital over a 6 month period and that really did shape my perspective and who I am today.

As I stated earlier, I will not run in 2023 and I hope that continues for many more years but the cruel nature of this disease is that it remains relentless and continues to evolve. Running was my means to grieve, to grow and in many ways, to “fight back” against what was out of my control. The plan is to be a Marathon Monday spectator going forward but I will always reserve and exercise the need to lace up if it’s time to fight again. Until then, I will be directing my energy towards finding new means and vehicles to raise funds and furthering my experience in the charity space. While I may have crossed both the Boston and Big Sur finish lines, we have a long way to go until we reach a world free of cancer.

Thank you for your endless support and love throughout this chapter of my life – please enjoy a few pictures from the B2B challenge!

Jason