Cambridge pediatric doctor running fifth Boston Marathon to support Mass General patients

"This is going to be my fifth year as part of this incredible team, and I am eternally grateful to run in honor of the patients we serve. "

March 26, 2026 | 4:26 PM

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: Jennifer Leah Goetz
Age: 39
City: Cambridge

I started running to help with crippling depression, and running has become such an important part of my life in ways too numerous to count.

I trained in pediatrics, general and child psychiatry, at Massachusetts General Hospital. During my training, I had the honor of working with kids, teens, and families who were battling cancer and running their own “treatment marathon.”

Walking alongside their care and treatment, first as a pediatrics intern, and then later as a child psychiatry fellow, was an incredible privilege. When I finally got the courage to take on the distance of 26.2 miles, I knew there was no other organization that I wanted to run to raise money for than MGH.

This is going to be my fifth year as part of this incredible team, and I am eternally grateful to run in honor of the patients we serve and the people that make this institution what it is.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.

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Kelly Chan

Content Producer

Kelly Chan is a content producer at Boston.com. She designs multimedia content on site and across social media platforms, and experiments with new ways to engage readers.

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