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She’s running her fifth Boston Marathon in support of Dana-Farber
"Every year I return to the start line carrying names, memories, and the people who didn’t get the chance to grow older."
Name: Amanda Bathory
Age: 45
From: Auburndale
This April marks my fifth consecutive Boston Marathon running for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
I didn’t come to running — or to the Boston Marathon — because it was easy or aspirational. I came because cancer took my mom — and because I’m raising two boys in a world where this disease still gets too many last words.
Running started as a way to move through the weight I didn’t yet have words for. Over time, it became a place where grief could exist without explanation — and eventually, a place where it could become purpose.
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When I learned about the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge and the opportunity to run the Boston Marathon in support of cancer research and patient care, the choice was immediate. This wasn’t just a race. It was a way to run for something instead of away from it.
What I didn’t expect was how deeply this race would remake me. In five years, cancer has kept taking from the people I love. I’ve watched them fight battles that make Heartbreak Hill look gentle, and I’ve learned that showing up — mile after mile, year after year — is the most powerful thing I can do for the people who never got to choose whether they show up for their fight.
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There are January mornings in New England when the cold is brutal, the sidewalks are ice, and every part of me wants to stay under the covers. Then I think about the patients at Dana-Farber walking into treatment — people who don’t get a rest day. And I lace up my shoes.
Boston is home. Its course is honest and demanding, much like grief itself. Every year I return to the start line carrying names, memories, and the people who didn’t get the chance to grow older. I also carry the families still waiting, still hoping, and the researchers and clinicians working every day to give them more time.
This isn’t a victory lap. It’s a recommitment. To the mission. To the people. And to the belief that while loss may be permanent, impact doesn’t have to be.
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