He’s running the Boston Marathon for his wife, a stroke survivor

"She demonstrates the importance of advocating for yourself and that you don’t have to let a health scare define you."

Mike and Janet Dyer. Mike Dyer

March 30, 2025

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.

Name: Mike Dyer
Age: 48
From: Hingham, Mass.

My wife, Janet, was 33 when she had her first stroke.

Doctors believed it was caused by a small hole in the heart, which is relatively common and typically doesn’t lead to complications, so it was left mostly untreated.

We never imagined it could happen again.

But in 2017, when Janet was just 40 years old, it did happen again. And to our surprise, her physician told her to come back after her third stroke, which is when we knew we needed to change course.

We found a new care team that determined it wasn’t a hole in the heart, but a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM), a condition that can allow blood clots to reach the brain, that had caused her strokes.

Janet was treated with Abbott’s Amplatzer vascular plug and has been healthy ever since.

During this difficult period, Janet discovered Tedy’s Team, a nonprofit founded by Tedy Bruschi that raises awareness about the signs and symptoms of stroke and heart disease. Janet’s health journey got our entire family into running in support of Tedy’s Team, and today, we have proudly raised over $50,000 for the organization.

This year, Tedy’s Team received bibs from the healthcare company Abbott to participate in their first-ever London Marathon, which Janet will be running the Sunday after I conquer my third Boston Marathon. In doing so, Janet is joining Team Abbott, a team of runners who are using their running journeys to inspire others.

My wife is an inspiration to me every single day and the reason I run marathons. She demonstrates the importance of advocating for yourself and that you don’t have to let a health scare define you. I’m excited to go support her as she takes on London.