Joe Bednar ran the marathon for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a charity very personal to him, he said. A few of Bednar’s family and friends have battled cancer and experienced related complications in the past.
“To be able to tell my mom I’m running for cancer research was very, very cool,” Bednar, MCAS ’24, said.
Though fundraising was a stressful process, Bednar was able to raise around $7,600.
“I know it’s going to such a good place,” he said.
His donors spanned from close family members to friends of his parents that he had never met before, he said.
“I was thinking how in the future, if one of my college roommates’ sons or daughters ended up running the marathon, I would definitely donate,” Bednar said.
As a member of ROTC, Bednar is a frequent runner. He said that 20 to 25 miles of running is a regular week for him. His love for long-distance running is fairly recent since he began getting into the sport in his senior year of high school. Since he was already in great running shape, the training process was not much of a change despite some issues with his knee.
During the marathon, Bednar ran alongside his roommate, Tommy Pace, MCAS ’24. Since they are both very competitive, the marathon was a feat they wanted to achieve together, Bendar said.
“Passing Mile 21 and seeing all of our friends rush onto the T track to cheer us on was something I will never forget,” Bednar said.
