September 16, 2007
7,700 walk to raise funds for cancer research & care in the 19th annual Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk, Sept. 16
There were sunny skies and sunny spirits as more than 7,700 people took part in the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk on Sunday, Sept. 16, with one mission in mind — a world without cancer. The walkers are on their way to raising $6.3 million for that mission through supporting cancer research and care for both adults and children at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Walkers have until this November to collect and send in all of their pledges.
The streets from Hopkinton to Boston were filled with people walking in honor, or in memory, of loved ones affected by cancer and to help change the odds for those with the disease. Approximately 2,400 walkers began the day in Hopkinton and walked the entire Boston Marathon route. Most participants opted for the half-marathon, which started in Wellesley, and more than 1,000 left from a new starting point — the 5-mile route which began at Boston College. Many patients and their families walked the final three miles from the Boston start, escorted by more than 100 chiefs of police from across Massachusetts.
The Walk is presented by Hyundai Motor America and is Boston's "Hometown Walk" — the event supports the Jimmy Fund, a local charity with international consequence, and is held on Boston's renowned Boston Marathon course. It is the only event other than the Boston Marathon itself that is sanctioned by the Boston Athletic Association to use the historic 26.2-mile route.
In the past 18 years, walkers and their financial supporters have contributed more than $45 million to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Walk, funding innovative cancer research and care that is helping to develop better treatments for cancer patients around the world.
For more information or to contribute, visit www.jimmyfundwalk.org.
Contact:
Lisa McEvoy
Phone: (617) 632-5655
