Boston Marathon effort to benefit glioblastoma brain cancer research

If it were only about the running, it would be simple. It’s about so much more than that. It’s about making a difference.

On Monday, April 21, over 38,000 runners will gather at the starting line of the Boston Marathon in Hopkinton to run 26.2 miles on their way to the finish line at Boston’s Copley Square.

To qualify for the 112th Boston Marathon, runners must meet the designated time standard for their age group. Bellevue resident Peter Kline qualified for his first Boston Marathon with a time of 3:42.

What sets Peter apart? He will be running as a charity runner to raise money for the Chris Elliott Fund and brain cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Klein didn’t start out as a charity runner, he just had a goal, to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Then, he found out his friend and Chris Elliott Fund board member, Scott Patrick, was diagnosed with glioblastoma two years ago.

Brain cancer is a highly aggressive and incurable disease, often striking without warning. Brain tumors do not discriminate. For every 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 131 are living with a diagnosis of a brain tumor. There will be 20,000 new cases diagnosed this year. Peter decided to run as a charity runner to help change these statistics.