Russ Becker of Wayland, a student at the College of Charleston, will be running the Boston Marathon for the second consecutive year as a member of The Angel Fund team to raise money for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) research. The 22-year old college senior will join his uncle, Rich Kennedy, President of The Angel Fund, and other team members on the 26.2 mile run to help raise awareness of the disease. His girlfriend, Maggie Butcher, will join the team this year for her inaugural run of the marathon.
Becker and Butcher will raise money to honor the memory of Russ’ grandfather, Christopher Kennedy who died from ALS at age 66 and his uncle, Jimmy Kennedy, who also died of the disease at the age of 31. Becker is the son of Kathy (Kennedy) Becker, one of nine children of Christopher and Mary Kennedy-Peretti, formerly of Quincy.
Becker was inspired to run the Boston Marathon for The Angel Fund by his uncle Rich who has also spearheaded a number of campaigns to increase awareness for ALS, including the family’s upcoming Squirrel Run, a/k/a 16th annual Jimmy Kennedy Memorial Race and Family Fun Day on June 8th. In addition to coordinating the Squirrel Run, Rich has run the Boston Marathon for the past 28 years.
Running the marathon for the first time last year was a feat that Becker thought impossible only five years before when he tipped the scales at 300 pounds.
“(At the time) I had little positive direction and even less motivation to change,” he said when he began training for the 2012 Boston Marathon. “A conscious decision (during) my sophomore year in high school started me on a path of healthier eating, exercise and thinking about my future. Something just clicked and I started to run.”
Now, still 120 pounds lighter, the College of Charleston senior and former Weston resident, has set up a fundraising page through Firstgiving.com to raise money for The Angel Fund, a 501 (c)(3) independent charity that benefits ALS research at the Cecil B. Day Laboratory for Neuromuscular Research at UMass Medical Center under the direction of Dr. Robert H. Brown, Jr., a world-renowned researcher in the field of ALS.
To make a donation to Russ Becker in support of The Angel Fund, visit his FirstGiving page.
To follow his progress during and after the Boston Marathon on April 15th visit the Boston Athletic Association’s webpage.
In addition to the individual efforts like those of Russ Becker, The Angel Fund conducts other fund raising events throughout the year which, along with other individual and corporate donations, have been beneficial in helping make significant strides in ALS research. For a list of upcoming events, visit The Angel Fund website. Donations to the Angel Fund can also be made online, or can be sent to The Angel Fund, 649 Main Street, Wakefield, MA 01880.
