Running the Marathon for Bowdoin Street

Team Grateful Nation is going through final paces for the 114th Boston Marathon in support of Healthy Champions at Bowdoin Street Health Center.

The team includes four BIDMC staff members - Jaclyn Everett, RN, Julia Lindenberg, MD, General Internal Medicine and Primary Care; Kathleen Quackenbush Spiegel, Development; and Mark Zeidel, MD, Chief, Department of Medicine.

Zeidel, who will run his fifth and final marathon, finds it "the most exhilarating athletic event I have even been involved in. It is an amazing thing to go from Hopkinton to Boston in one run."

While each runner has personal motivation, all are united in the commitment to raise $25,000 for the children being served by Bowdoin Street's Healthy Champions program, which strives to address key wellness challenges in the community by enlisting local youths who can spread the word.

Projects will focus on access to healthy foods, asthma awareness and violence prevention. Jen French, a program coordinator at BSHC, acknowledges that the youth involved with Healthy Champions "bring the extra enthusiasm that the community needs."

"Running Boston is a once in a lifetime experience, but running for a cause makes such a difference," says Spiegel. Knowing that the funds I raise will help out these kids is what motivates me throughout the long training runs and will definitely help me on Marathon Monday."

There are a number of ways to help:

• Cheer the team on! The runners will be wearing Grateful Nation shirts and would appreciate your screams of encouragement.

• Interested in sporting your own Grateful Nation t-shirt and holding up a Grateful Nation sign along the route? Contact 617-667-4578 for details.

• Follow the runners' training and fundraising progress on the Grateful Nation web site. Check back on race day and track their progress along the route.

• Make a donation to help them close the gap and finish strongly.

To read more about the runners or to make a donation, visit the Grateful Nation Marathon page.