A year ago, 25-year-old Charlestown, Massachusetts, resident, Marie Walton, had never run more than five miles. She stayed active, but she says she was not in especially good shape. So, when two friends asked her to join them in a half marathon last spring, she surprised herself. “I signed up before I could talk myself out of it,” Marie says. Even more surprising — she loved it. This spring, she’s becoming a marathoner as part of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Boston Marathon team.
“I’m part of this legacy of people who have run and raised money for this amazing place where I work, and that my sister and my family benefitted from very directly. That is the coolest, most important, most special thing.”
“When I moved to Boston, I couldn’t believe how many runners I saw — everyone here runs,” says Marie. “Now, I’m part of the Boston running community, and, while I live and work here, I want to run the Boston Marathon — and fundraise for Mass General for very personal reasons.”
It really is very personal for Marie: her sister is alive today thanks to Mass General, she works at the hospital and she even lives in the same building where her family stayed while her sister was in treatment.
“I’m part of this legacy of people who have run and raised money for this amazing place where I work, and that my sister and my family benefitted from very directly,” Marie says. “That is the coolest, most important, most special thing.”
A Terrifying Diagnosis
When Marie was 14, her younger sister, Morgan, was 9, and the family lived in Maine. After experiencing headaches throughout her childhood, an MRI revealed two lesions in Morgan’s brain. Biopsies of the areas confirmed Morgan’s diagnosis: two different tumors — one low-grade and one high-grade — an extremely rare situation, and terrifying for the Walton family.
“Up to that point, nobody close to our family had ever had cancer; we didn’t know anything about it,” Marie says.
For the next five years, Morgan was in treatment. Most of her surgeries and chemotherapy were based at Maine Medical Center. Eventually, however, her doctors determined she needed proton beam therapy — a precisely targeted form of radiation that spares healthy tissue in highly sensitive areas, like the brain, and in highly sensitive patients, like kids.
Because proton therapy requires complex technology, it is only available at major medical centers, including Mass General’s Francis H. Burr Proton Therapy Center, where Morgan came for her care. During her three-month treatment, she and her mother moved into a philanthropically funded apartment in Charlestown — which happens to be the same building where Marie now lives with her boyfriend, Ryan, and their dog, Hudson.
“While Morgan’s diagnosis was scary, it was a positive experience at Mass General,” Marie says. “The third time Morgan lost her hair, it was different: her chemo hair loss was all over, but with radiation, she lost just a patch. She went to Images Boutique, and they re-shaved her head and helped her feel ok again. She also loved her radiation nurse, who played her favorite Meghan Trainor songs during her treatments. The team made her not dread radiation, and it was such a special moment when she got to ring the bell when her care was complete.”
Inspired by Experience
Morgan’s tumors have been stable since her treatment ended nine years ago. She still comes to Mass General annually for visits with Torunn Yock, MD, but she is now a healthy college student studying to be a social worker, a career choice Marie says is inspired by her experience. Marie’s own career choice was also shaped by her sister’s cancer journey. She works in Mass General’s Development Office, where she helps tell the stories of grateful patients to help inspire philanthropic giving to the hospital.
“At work, I write about other peoples’ experiences, and they all say it, but it really is true: every person you interact with here is so kind, helpful and generous, and truly understanding of what you’re going through,” Marie says.
Every spring, Marie helps produce the stories of Mass General’s marathon team runners to help them reach their fundraising goals. This year, she is part of that group. “It’s a really cool thing for me to be part of it now, to give back through running,” she says. “That is a big motivator, to just be part of this thing that is so special.”
An Incredibly Special Thing
As part of the Mass General Marathon Team, Marie committed to raising at least $10,000 to support the hospital’s programs and services — all while completing a grueling training program that falls during Boston’s winter months. Marie says she has reached her fundraising goal thanks to the support of family members, coworkers and friends, and that their support has inspired her during her long runs and when her motivation was lagging. And she’s going to keep fundraising until the marathon.
“What is so cool about the Boston Marathon is that everyone running either has to qualify with a very fast marathon finish or has to raise a lot of money — and both are really hard,” she says. “I have asked so many people for money, and even people I didn’t ask have donated. Everyone is so supportive, and there’s really a feeling of being in it together.”
On Marathon Monday, Marie says that several crowds of colleagues and friends will be stationed throughout the course to cheer her on, and that her family, including Morgan, are planning to travel to Boston to watch her finish.
“I love being a Boston Marathon spectator so much — it’s not a normal marathon! I always cry while watching, even when I don’t know anyone running,” Marie says. “It’s an incredibly special thing to be part of — I think I’m just going to cry the whole time.”
If you would like to support Marie, click here.
To learn more about the Mass General Marathon Team, click here.
