Lincoln resident Allison Wiggin Paolisso is running in Monday’s Boston Marathon to raise money for lymphoma research, while Patricia Levy and her sixth-grade son are coordinating Lincoln’s first Pan-Mass Challenge Kids Ride on Sunday, May 3. Lincolnites are also invited to participate in Emerson Hospital Auxiliary’s annual 5K Run/Walk for Cancer on May 30.
Paolisso is running her first Boston Marathon with Team In Training, the fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in honor of her mother Agnes, also of Lincoln, who is celebrating 10 years in remission from lymphoma. Paolisso and her teammates have been training since December through record-breaking winter weather. This year’s team includes over 100 runners from around the country and has collectively raised almost $900,000 towards LLS’s mission of curing blood cancer and improving the lives of patients and their families.
“I’ve watched my mom battle chemo and radiation and come back stronger than before. She’s a total inspiration,” Paolisso said. “Running a marathon might seem crazy, and it is, but it’s something that I chose to do. People don’t get a choice when they’re diagnosed with cancer. If they can fight through the treatments everything that comes with cancer, then I can certainly run 26.2 miles.” To learn more or make a donation, visit her Team in Training web page.
PMC Kids Ride
Bringing the Pan-Mass Challenge Kids Ride to Lincoln was the idea of Levy’s son Will, who has ridden in previous PMC Kids Rides in Concord, Weston/Wellesley and Belmont to raise money to support children with cancer through the Jimmy Fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Will began riding in first grade, and to raise money that year, he held his birthday party at Fenway Park asking for donations in lieu of gifts, Levy said. This year he asked if he could start a PMC Ride in Lincoln to commemorate his sixth year riding and the 10th anniversary of the PMC Kids Ride. Thirty-seven towns in Masschusetts will host a ride in 2015, and the annual event has raised more than $600,000 to fight cancer. The adult version of the PMC ride includes one- or two-day routes in early August.
The May 3 family event in Lincoln starts on Ballfield Road and includes three rides of different lengths for kids age 3 and up: a Tykes Loop around the Ballfield, a 2-mile loop and a 4-mile loop though the center of town. To register to ride or volunteer, visit the Lincoln PMC Kids Ride page. Anyone with questions may email Levy at pattylevy.pmckidslincoln@gmail.com.
Emerson 5K
The Emerson event will take place on May 30 at the Thoreau Club field at 275 Forest Ridge Road in Concord. It brings together runners and walkers from the 25 communities served by Emerson Hospital to support cancer care at the Mass General Cancer Center at Emerson Hospital–Bethke.
As with the Lincoln PMC Kids ride, there are three routes for different ages and abilities: a 5K run beginning at 8:30 a.m., a one-mile Kids’ Fun Run at 9 a.m., and a 5K walk at 10:30 a.m. All three will follow groomed trails and residential streets. Participants and their guests are invited to remain at the Thoreau Club for a barbecue and family activities including a Tot Trot for children, swimming and sports, craft activities, and an inflatable obstacle course.
Visit www.EmersonHospital.org/5k for event details and to register or make a donation. Online registration is available until May 28, but walk-in registrations on the day of the event are welcome. Cambridge Savings Bank is the presenting sponsor of this year’s event.
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