Boston Marathon

In honor of her niece, Christine Shearman is running Boston to ‘attain a world without cancer’

"Seeing what Layla and our whole family experienced, I made a vow to raise awareness about cancer research."

alt = Christine Shearman, posing with her arms up after finishing the 126th Boston Marathon last year. She is wearing a blue Dana-Farber tank, running shorts, a hat, sunglasses, her running bib, and a Boston Marathon medal.
Christine Shearman, pictured after finishing the 126th Boston Marathon last year, is running for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team for a second time in April.

By Heather Alterisio

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon runners share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. If you’re running the marathon, you can share your story here.

Name: Christine Shearman
Age: 50
From: Merrimack, N.H.

This will be my second year running for the DFMC team I was initially inspired to run last year to honor my niece/Goddaughter Layla.

In 2020, when she was 7, she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Seeing what Layla and our whole family experienced, I made a vow to raise awareness about cancer research.

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Thankfully, Layla officially rang her end-of-treatment bell in late 2022 and we are all so grateful. But the work isn’t done.

I want more of those bells to ring for those currently in treatment, and I also need to honor everyone who didn’t get that chance. I believe in spreading the word and asking everyone to come together and help us attain a world without cancer.

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

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