Siobhan Donovan is running Boston for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

"I wanted to run every day of chemo, remind myself how strong I was mentally and physically."

updated on March 26, 2024

2 minutes 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: Siobhan Donovan
Age: 35
From: Worcester

In April 2022, I was 33 and pregnant with my third child and diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. I had a 3-year-old and 2-year-old. My sister and I are raising money for my treatment center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I was fortunate enough to be offered a number and granted the opportunity to run Boston by the Smith Family.The marathon is almost exactly 2 years after my diagnosis. Since then, I completed 27 rounds of chemo and my disease was stable for a year. This week I learned my cancer has progressed and I will soon be starting a new line of treatment.

It’s been almost two years, so how did I get here? I just kept going, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other — sometimes literally, mostly figuratively. When I was first diagnosed and newly postpartum, I fell in love with running. I went to the gym, but just casually to stay healthy and fit. Once I was diagnosed, I started jogging every day I had chemo. It was the wee hours of the morning, before my toddlers were awake, since I was already up with the infant. At first it was only a mile or two. Then I became committed; I wanted to run every day of chemo, remind myself how strong I was mentally and physically — so I did for 27 straight weeks. Every Thursday, before chemo, early in the morning, slow, steady, strong.

When I decided to run the marathon, it was because I can, because why not, because if not now then when, because I’m strong. During training I have never dreaded a run, because those first few steps in the bitter New England cold I feel energized, inspired and often emotional.

The training hasn’t been hard because I’m not thinking about the frigid wind or my aching joints hitting the frozen pavement. I’m thinking about my daughter and dropping her off at her first day of kindergarten or helping her shop for a prom dress. I’m thinking about my son and his high school graduation. I’m thinking about my last baby, who grew inside me at the same time as my cancer and teaching him how to ride a bike. Running isn’t hard compared to the thought of missing any of that.

Someday my kids will see the photos of me completing the marathon, smiling, soaking it all in, and they will be reminded of my hard work, my will to not only survive but live, and most of all, my dedication to use the power of love to achieve my goals and make them proud.

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