The Boston Marathon had been a ‘bucket list’ item for Ryan Lubben. But now he’s running it for his dad.
"They have always been my biggest supporters," Lubben said of his parents.
Name: Ryan Lubben
Age: 43
From: West Bend, Wisconsin
Bib #: 2366
Like many competitive runners, Boston has always been on my bucket list. I always told myself that I would run it when I finally break the sub-3 [hour] barrier. That happened for the first time back in October of 2017 at the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee. On that day, both my mom and my dad were out on the course cheering me on. They have always been my biggest supporters, and I largely credit my breaking three effort to them.
Seven months later, in May of 2018, my dad developed a rare and debilitating autoimmune disease that has completely altered my family’s life. So instead of running Boston as an item to cross off a bucket list, I’m running it as part of “Team Jerry” in honor of my dad Jerry to raise awareness about autoimmune diseases and to fundraise for the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA). My goal is to raise $100 for every mile between Hopkinton and Boylston Street ($2,620) before the start gun goes off on April 15th.
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Editor’s note: Entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
