by Susan Hurley

To all who ever thought about running the Boston Marathon may I make a suggestion based on personal experience - run for a charity.

For many years, I ran many marathons and even did the Ironman in Hawaii. Each achievement was more memorable than the next - but it wasn’t until I ran the Boston Marathon ( which I had previously run many times) representing Lazarus House in Lawrence that I really felt success.

I work as the program coordinator for Lazarus House choosing and managing their Boston Marathon team. Upon taking the job, I hadn’t planned on running but leading this team wouldn’t seem the same unless I laced up my shoes too and ran on behalf of the homeless in Lawrence, MA.

I can’t tell you how important the mission to succeed became - and it wasn’t about me like it had been for so many years in the past. It was truly about Lazarus House and the team that grew to mean so much to me.

This year is the final year of Lazarus House being an “official charity” of the Boston Marathon. So this year is incredibly important to raise as much money as possible for our program which benefits the food pantry at Lazarus House. I am pleased to say - almost our entire team is planning on returning to the program.

What made our program even more special was all 27 runners - started and finished the race - for the second year in a row this due to our incredible personalized coaching and communication network.
I encourage all runners to try running for a charity just once in your lives. “Personal best” takes on a very different meaning.

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About Susan Hurley

Susan Hurley resides in North Andover, Massachusetts with 2 boys, Ryan and Max where she is an avid runner. She has competed in many marathons including Boston and New York City. Susan ran the Boston Marathon 2008 with a broken hand after having surgery 3 weeks before and is an accomplished triathlete and Ironman Hawaii finisher. Susan is also a former New England Patriots Cheerleader. She works as a team coordinator and fundraiser for official charities of the Boston Marathon Program - Lazarus House Hunger Strikers and UMASS GoKids Boston. She is also coordinating a 24 hour relay on May 16 and 17 for UMASS GoKids Boston.

Teams are currently being recruited for all 3 programs. For more information email Susan.