PORTLAND, Maine — The 126th Boston Marathon feels like two years in the making for many of the runners, like myself, who are preparing to take on this iconic race.
I have a vivid memory of my mom taking my brother and me to watch the race with two of our friends, whose parents were charity runners at the time. Since then I always knew I would run someday.
Two years ago I set out to run my first Boston Marathon for the Vanessa T. Marcotte Foundation, an organization aimed at making the world a safer place for all people.
But the pandemic had other plans for the 124th Boston Marathon. I ended up participating in that race virtually by running 13 two-mile loops around my neighborhood. To say that's not how I expected my first marathon to go is an understatement, but I felt like I still needed to do it for women, like Vanessa, who can't.
Fast forward to 2021. Marathon Monday was back, but it looked different, as it was in the fall instead of on Patriot's Day, like it always had been. I decided to sit that one out but always knew I would run from Hopkington to Boston when it felt right.
In June of 2021, I lost my maternal grandmother, Mary Ellen Look. She was someone who I spent a lot of time with, and we were incredibly close.
She worked for NASA during the Space Race and raised my mom and her two brothers as a single mom. Not only that, but she was a huge part of my dad's family too and loved them as if they were her own blood.
She was smart and kind. But when she was diagnosed with dementia shortly before the pandemic, we saw her quickly deteriorate.
That's why I decided to run this year's marathon for the Alzheimer's Association, to honor not only my grandmother, or Nan, as we called her, but so many other people who battle this disease.
According to the Alzheimer's Association, there are 29,000 people older than 65 who are living with Alzheimer's in Maine, and 10.5 percent of Mainers 45 and older are experiencing some sort of subjective cognitive decline.
That means there are 46,000 unpaid caregivers in the state of Maine alone.
Since beginning my TV news career four years ago I have covered a number of nursing home closures and talked to dozens of family members who are worried about moving their loved ones to different facilities, which according to the National Institute on Aging, puts them at more of a risk for falling or becoming confused whether they have Alzheimer's or dementia, or not.
Through my training and fundraising journey, I have talked to so many people who have also lost a loved one to this disease, including people I am very close to, but I never knew that they also watched a family member deteriorate in the same way.
So I'm running to raise money for Alzheimer's research for the generation who raised us, with the hope that someday we will see our first survivor of Alzheimer's and dementia.
If you're interested in supporting my cause, you can do so here.
To everyone who has donated, sponsored a mile, bought raffle tickets, attended a fundraising event, and so much more, I can't thank you enough.