How her grandmother’s resilience led her to the Boston Marathon

Boston Marathon

“Dana-Farber gave my family so much more time with my grandmother than we ever thought possible.”

By Kelly Chan

March 20, 2025 | 4:30 PM

2 minutes to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.

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Name: Lindsey Jaeger
Age: 32
From: Hudson, NH

I never considered myself a runner, and certainly never imagined I would run my first marathon in my 30s after giving birth to a child. However, when my grandmother, one of my biggest supporters, passed away in 2022 from ovarian cancer I knew I wanted to give back somehow one day. In November 2023, I ran the Boston Half Marathon on team Dana-Farber and decided this year I wanted to go for the full thing. Dana-Farber gave my family so much more time with my grandmother than we ever thought possible, so when I was given the opportunity to join the Dana-Farber Boston Marathon team, I knew I couldn’t turn it down.

In December 2014, after being in remission for 10 years, my grandmother’s ovarian cancer came back. Her one wish was to make it to my college graduation in May 2015 to see her first grandchild graduate from college. Not only did she attend my college graduation, but she was also able to attend my law school graduation, see me get sworn into the Virginia Bar, and attend my wedding in September 2021. It meant the world to me to have her there to celebrate all these accomplishments, but if it weren’t for her resilience, and the care team at Dana-Farber it would have never been possible.

Unfortunately, everyone knows someone who is fighting or fought cancer. While I initially decided to run on team Dana-Farber in memory of my grandmother, there are so many others that I am also running for. I’m running for one of my oldest friends who was diagnosed with leukemia when we were in eighth grade, and I’m running for friends, family and strangers who have battled this horrible disease because no one should have to go through that and we need to find a cure.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.