ATHOL — Beckie Brown is a marathon runner, but she’s racheting down the pace for the upcoming 26.2-mile Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday in Beantown.
Brown, 43, of Athol and fellow team member Tammy Lake of Phillipston will be among the 9,500 people expected to participate in the annual event, which follows the actual route of the Boston Marathon.
The pair, walking on behalf of a friend who recently beat breast cancer at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, are team “Walkers 4 Knockers.”
Brown, originally from Templeton, and her husband Mark Brown built their home in Athol in 2007. She has completed running marathons, including runDisney twice and the Hartford Marathon. She has applied to run in the Boston Marathon in the spring.
While she has been training for the walk, she said, “I do mostly running. It’s not the same. I have to force myself not to run.”
She has participated in “a ton” of charity runs, she said, but never a walk.
“You have to train for it — you’re on your feet so much longer through the day,” she said.
This year’s goal is to raise more than $9 million to benefit the Jimmy Fund for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at the “nation’s premier cancer center,” Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. The event has raised more than $128 million in its 30-year history. The Boston Athletic Association has supported the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk since 1989, and Hyundai has been the presenting sponsor since 2002.
“The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk gives participants the opportunity to personally support breakthroughs in cancer care and research and join the extended Dana-Farber team responsible for these developments,” said Zack Blackburn, assistant vice-president of the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. “Every step in walking and fundraising in our 30-year history is a step forward in the journey to improve people’s lives.”
Four route options
Walkers can choose from four routes along the course:
Marathon Walk (26.2 miles from Hopkinton); rolling start from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.; Half Marathon Walk (13.1 miles from Wellesley); 10K Walk (6.2 miles from Newton); or the 5K Walk (3.1 miles) from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area. This route will include many patients and their families.
Brown chose the 26.2 — “Don’t forget the point two,” she said. “You earn every mile!”
She said she averages a speed of four miles an hour.
“The longer you walk, the slower you go,” she said, and anticipates completing the course in roughly seven hours. “And, of course, when you get toward Heartbreak Hill, you slow down a bit.”
Walkers are treated to 12 refueling stations along the course, as well as poster-sized photographs of inspiring “Walk Heroes” at each mile and half-mile marker. All routes conclude at the Copley Square finish line, where participants can celebrate with food, live entertainment and a speaking program.
Minimum entry fee
All walkers must raise a minimum of $325, except for walkers 12 years old and younger, whose fundraising minimum is $125. Pacesetters are extraordinary fundraisers who raise $1,500 or more, or $500 or more for those 12 years old and younger. There is also a “Virtual Walker” option for those unable to attend the event.
Brown has raised her minimum, but has set a goal of $500.
“Anything to help the Dana Farber Foundation,” she said. “I want to raise as much as possible.”
Brown’s fundraising page can be viewed at: bit.ly/2PLeq5q.
The Jimmy Fund (www.JimmyFund.org) solely supports Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, raising funds for adult and pediatric cancer care and research to improve the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. It is an official charity of the Boston Red Sox, as well as the official charity of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Variety Children’s Charity of New England. Follow the Jimmy Fund on Facebook and Twitter at: www.facebook.com/thejimmyfund and @TheJimmyFund.