Fall 2025
By Sofi Elbadawi
Photography by Justin Knight, Kelly Dillon Photography
On Monday, April 21, more than 500 runners completed the 129th Boston Marathon® as part of the 2025 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team. This year’s DFMC athletes collectively raised over $8.3 million and counting for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, which provides funding for groundbreaking ideas at their earliest stages, propelling them toward discovery and potential cures.
Among this year’s DFMC team members was Tara Kenney, a Boston native whose connection to the team was deeply personal. Running the Boston Marathon had always been a lifelong dream for Tara, but it never felt like an achievable goal. That all changed when her father was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme grade IV (GBM) in February 2024. “Seeing my father face his diagnosis with grace, strength, and humor inspired me to do something bigger than myself and to join the DFMC team in his honor,” she shared. Motivated by her father’s courage, Tara was able to accomplish her goal of completing the Boston Marathon, crossing the finish line in Copley Square with a photo of her father raised high.
For Tara, running the Boston Marathon with the DFMC team was not only a personal achievement, but also a testament to the power of community and shared purpose. “I feel so lucky to have met teammates who supported me through my marathon training, but also through the loss of my father,” she shared. “Over the course of the season, there is a bond that forms amongst teammates that can’t be described, and I feel so lucky to have been a part of it.”
Tara’s commitment to Dana-Farber’s mission is fueled by her father’s legacy. “Glioblastoma multiforme grade IV still does not have a cure,” she noted. “I want to continue supporting Dana-Farber Cancer Institute so that future patients and families facing this disease have options.”
Since its first steps in 1990, the DFMC team has directed 100% of funds raised—more than $140 million to date—to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. Anthony G. Letai, MD, PhD, a Claudia Adams Barr Program Investigator, emphasized the importance of basic science research. “The Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research provides funds for new ideas going in new directions,” he explained. “It can be challenging to secure funding for new research directions through more traditional pathways. With so much uncertainty surrounding National Institutes of Health funding, the role of this program has never been more important.”
“Seeing my father face his diagnosis with grace, strength, and humor inspired me to do something bigger than myself.”
Tara Kenney, 2025 DFMC Runner
Support from the DFMC team has enabled researchers like Letai to explore innovative approaches that can lead to significant advancements in cancer treatment. “For me, it gave me the ability to go in a new direction at several points in my career,” he shared. “In one case, the eventual impact was a new treatment for both acute myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic
leukemia.”
Thanks to runners like Tara and researchers like Letai, the DFMC team is making strides in the fight against cancer, 26.2 miles at a time.