2018 Reach the Beach Relay

Will you be a part of our fundraising campaign that raises our 100,000th dollar for breast cancer research? That’s exactly what will happen if you contribute $5, $25 or more to our 2018 Relay in Memory of Megan.

We’re running the 201 mile Ragnar Reach the Beach Relay on September 14th and 15th and raising more funds to donate to frontline cancer research initiatives. This year feels especially important after losing Megan’s father, James (and Jay and Jim and Dad – he was many names to many people) Lally at the end of 2017.

Jim was a big supporter of our efforts by volunteering, fundraising, donating, cheering and more at all of our 5K events. In 2016 when we first crossed the finish line of the Reach the Beach relay, Jim was there with beers.

It’s been a hot and grueling summer for running. We’ve put some rough miles training for this year’s race on our bodies. It’s been a bit miserable at times. But as long as people like Megan and Jim have to battle, so do we.

Will you join us and be a part of our fundraising campaign that raises our 100,000th dollar for breast cancer research?

 

Overseeing a soggy Run Like an Antelope 5K. Photo Credit - Bill Paul

Overseeing a soggy Run Like an Antelope 5K.
Photo Credit – Bill Paul

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Golf Tournament – 8/14/2018

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Please join us on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at Fall River Country Club in Fall River, MA for a full day of 18 holes of golf starting at 11:30am.

  • Lunch and Dinner will be provided.
  • $600 for foursome (singles welcome $150 each).
  • Hole sponsorships available ($50 minimum donation).
  • There will be 50/50 raffle, silent auction and much more.

Additional details here.

Fundraising Update

Our 2017 Fundraising efforts resulted in a donation to the UMass Cancer Center of Excellence in the amount of $15,000. This brings our total money raised and donated to benefit cancer research and related causes to over $90,000!

We’re gearing up for another Ragnar Relay and fundraising efforts in 2018 that we’ll be sharing soon. Thanks so much for your support!

Still going!

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I thought I’d write some more updates along the way but unfortunately we seem to be largely out in no-cell phone coverage land.  How do people in New Hampshire check their Facebook?

We’re still going strong, though, but very much looking forward to some post-race beer.  We’re currently in Sandown, NH – 40 or so miles from Hampton Beach – close enough to almost taste the beer!

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So close

Wowza!  We hit our goal already!  You guys are the bestest.  We shot for $7000, and we are blowing it away at over $13,000 at my last check.  Maybe we’ve got a shot at fully doubling our goal and getting to 14k!  Every bit of this money is going to UMASS Cancer Center research, so know that every donation, whether it be $5, $25, or even more, is directly going to help cancer research.  If you haven’t already, please consider making a donation to this cause.  The race starts tomorrow, but we’ll still accept donations for another few weeks at least before we present our check to UMASS.

Summer training has been tough, but our team is READY to get this started tomorrow bright and early!  Any and all support that comes in is a huge boost and helps remind us why this is so important.  Thanks again for all your help!

-Run Like an Antelope team

(Alex, Jessica, Joe, John, Melissa, Mikey, Neil, Robert, Rusty, Sarah, Tim, Vicki)

Why I run – Victoria

In 1988 my parents sat me down at the kitchen table to inform me that my grandmother had breast cancer.  20 years later, I received a phone call from one of my closest friends, Megan Lally, to inform me that she had breast cancer.  In 1990, my grandmother died of breast cancer surrounded by family.  21 years later, Megan passed away from breast cancer surrounded by her family.  Both women were fighters, but were no match for breast cancer.

 

I met Megan at Bishop Stang High School. After a long day, we were both waiting for our parents to pick us up.  Megan’s long blonde hair hung loose and while sitting on the ground, she began to play the guitar.  I asked her if she knew a Pink Floyd song that was “stringy.”  Somehow, she knew what I meant, and started to play, “Wish You Were Here.”  That one song sparked a friendship that lasted until her death at the age of 30.

 

Megan and I spent most of our high school years together and I was always in admiration of her talents.  She was an artist, a writer, a mathematician, a quilter.  A true Renaissance Woman.  There was nothing Megan could not do.  It would be a lie to say that at times I was jealous of her ability to capture someone’s expression in a sketch and the next moment answer the most complicated physics question.

 

If it wasn’t for Megan, I never would have met my husband.  If it wasn’t’ for Megan, I never would have learned the basics of calculus in college; If it wasn’t for Megan, I never would have laughed every day in high school; if it wasn’t for Megan, I might not have known what true friendship was about.  If it wasn’t for Megan, I wouldn’t have known the unbearable pain of losing a friend at such a young age.  If it wasn’t for Megan, I wouldn’t be training for a 200 mile relay race to raise money for breast cancer research. Every step I take while running, every time I want to give up, I keep going, for Megan.

 

I remember when I first heard the diagnosis for Megan, I never thought she couldn’t beat it.  This was Megan, the girl who ran half marathons, brewed her own beer, made her own wedding dress.  There was nothing she couldn’t do and in my mind that included beating cancer.  This was going to be just another victory for her.  I also thought, she’s young and the advances in cancer treatment must be so much better than in 1988.  But I was wrong.  The vitality and advancement in science were not enough for Megan.

 

To this day, almost 5 years after her death, I can’t hear “Wish you were here” without crying.  There is nothing I can do to bring her back but there is something I can do so others don’t feel this pain.  Myself and 11 other individuals are running in the Ragnar Reach the Beach 200 mile relay race.   We are raising money for breast cancer research at UMASS Medical Center in Worcester.  I know everyday people are asking for money, for so many worthy causes, but if you could donate $5, that might be all we need to save one more person.  I don’t want others to feel this pain and when I look at my daughter, Megan, I never want to tell her that breast cancer won again.