BU Professor Runs 2022 Boston Marathon For Diabetes Research

BELMONT, MA — A Belmont father of three who works as a professor at Boston University is running the Boston Marathon to help raise funds to support the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, a facility that has helped his family for over twenty years.

David Somers didn't start running marathons until he turned 55. With three under his belt, he says he's finally ready to run the Boston Marathon for that first time after watching his first one while he was a grad student in Boston.

Two of David's daughters have Type 1 diabetes, and when his youngest was first diagnosed, David wondered how he was going to manage the new obstacle. At the time, there were no continuous glucose monitors for children yet, so he had to do constant blood sugar checks during the night.

Six years later, David's middle daughter, Anika, was also diagnosed with Type 1. Thanks to help and support from the Joslin Center, David says he was able to recognize the symptoms right away and get her taken care of - even getting her to the school dance that night.

David says he is running to support his daughters but also for himself, as he has had his own health struggles with Type 2 diabetes. "It's partly for me to keep my health in check and to celebrate what I can do now that I couldn't do a few years ago," David said. He had a major hospitalization in the past and it was a huge wake-up call for him. Now he is dedicated to taking better care of himself, which he claims is part of the reason why he got into running.

For the Somers family, Joslin has played a huge role in their diabetes care since day one. One of the many reasons David says he loves Joslin so much is because they didn't treat either of his daughters like just another kid with diabetes, but the family holistically. "They helped us in so many ways," David said. "They made the unbearable, bearable."

David ran the Chicago Marathon in October 2021 for Team Joslin with Anika and is planning to do the New York City Marathon this November with Ellie, as it will be the 20th anniversary of the week of her diagnosis.

Now he's running this marathon in hopes to bring recognition and a large charitable contribution to the center that has helped his family for two decades. "I want to pay it forward to the next families that are going to face similar challenges," David said.

For more information or to support David and Team Joslin, click here.