Kirk & Jack are excited to be running for the Stepping Strong Team for the 2026 Boston Marathon. We are running in honor of our mom, who passed away from cancer in 2024. She was my biggest fan throughout my running career, watching all my high school, college, and adult races and was always there to say, “go get ‘em!”

Throughout her treatment and countless hospital stays, including numerous stays at Brigham, her concern was never on herself, but on us - her family. She carried on with strength and grace, determined to make life feel normal for all of us, especially for engagements, weddings, graduations, and grandkids being born.

In 2023, Kirk's son was born at Brigham and spent nearly six weeks of care at the hospital’s NICU. We cannot put into words how much the compassion, dedication, and expertise of the nurses and doctors meant to us. When we later ran into our “lifelong friends” of the NICU in the Brigham lobby during my mom’s final moments, every single one of them stopped to talk, offer a hug, and even brought home cooked meals for my family. That genuine kindness left a mark on all of us.

Supporting Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Stepping Strong team is our way to give back to the place that has carried my family through both heartbreak and hope. When we learned about Gillian Reny’s story, we were struck by her resilience, her family’s strength, and the extraordinary care she received at Brigham. After surviving life-changing injuries near the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013, Gillian’s family created the Stepping Strong Center to help transform how we prevent, treat, and recover from traumatic injury. Their mission, fueling research, reimagining trauma care, and supporting survivors, reminded me once again how deeply committed and compassionate the people at this hospital are. Running for Stepping Strong is an honor, and we are proud to support the work of the remarkable teams that make Brigham what it is.

Brigham and Women's Hospital is a proud partner of the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program.