Marlborough Mom Who Lost Son To Cancer Running Boston Marathon For Dana-Farber

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Cristiane Pepper is no stranger to road races, from 5Ks to half-marathons to full marathons. But her first Boston Marathon run this year will be much different from any other race she's competed in.

Pepper, of Marlborough, will be running to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Pepper's son, Ethan, died in January 2020 after a battle with synovial sarcoma.

"Through dozens of surgeries, months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he never complained. Even at the end, he was more worried about us than he was about himself. I will carry the memory of that strength with me to help me when it feels like I can’t go on," she wrote on her fundraiser page.

Pepper began running about a decade ago, aiming just to finish a 5K. She stuck with the sport, progressing to run her first 26.2 miles — the 2019 Charles River Marathon — and finished 13th in her division,

"She ran her first 5k ten years ago and fell in love with running, even though she didn't think she would be able to finish it," her husband, Charles Pepper, said.

Pepper is aiming to raise $2,000 for Dana Farber for her Boston Marathon run. As of Monday morning, she was just over halfway to that goal with about three weeks to go before the race.

The Boston Marathon will return in 2022 on its traditional Patriots Day Monday, April 18.

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