The charity runners of the Boston Marathon go the extra mile

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Today we honor you, Boston Marathon charity runners.

I see you. I’m one of you — kind of. I’ve run four marathons — Chicago, NYC, Philly, and NYC again — three of them for charities I care about: St. Jude, the Red Cross, and Sandy Hook Promise, plus a couple of Boston Half marathons for Dana-Farber.

It’s my secret superpower: I’m no track star, and I’m not qualifying for anything except an AARP card at this point, but I like to raise money for good causes and move my legs while I’m at it. I’m slow, I’m steady, and I’m stubborn and shameless when it comes to asking for money for things that matter. Knowing the miles are adding up to something meaningful keeps me going. I want my kids to see me doing it. I want to do good where I can, instead of feeling like there’s nothing I can do to change anything. I think I’ve raised roughly about $20,000 to help people. I’m proud of that.

But here’s the thing: I have never wanted to run Boston for charity. It’s too scary! I don’t think people really understand what an incredible commitment you all made when you applied to join your charity team and pledged to raise many thousands of dollars for your nonprofit organization in exchange for that Boston Marathon bib. The amount you have to raise for the incredible honor of running Boston is often higher than the minimum for most other prestigious marathons with a charity component. While the minimum is set by the charity you joined, in many cases you are committing to raise $7,500, $10,000, or more.

My brother and sister ran for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s team in 2017 and together had to raise at least $12,000 — $6,000 each, and largely from the same pool of family and friends. (That was practically a bargain. The minimum for this year’s team is $7,500.) For two public school teachers, that’s a bold and brave move. I’m also not sure most people understand that if you join a marathon charity team and don’t raise the minimum amount you commit to, you’re on the hook for it. Your credit card will be charged the difference.

My siblings reached their goal — I helped them organize their fund-raisers, more thankful with every passing day that it wasn’t my credit card on file — but it was hard and anxiety-inducing. But Spaulding has been there for my family and my brother, a wheelchair racer, a lot over the years, and so this was a labor of love. I know that for each of you, what you’re doing is a labor of love, too. And let’s not forget, this is on top of training to run an actual freaking marathon. You absolute beasts, you.

I asked Lorna Campbell, the head of public relations for the Boston Athletic Association, how many charity runners would be on the course this year and how much they would raise. The numbers are astounding: There are 176 nonprofits with marathon teams for a total of 3,200 charity runners. (Another 24,000 or so racers met this year’s qualifying time.) The BAA is hoping to surpass the $45.7 million raised through the charity program last year. Because each organization sets its own minimum, she couldn’t give me an average, but let’s just do the math: $45.7 million divided by 3,200? That’s an average of $14,281.25 raised by each runner, an intimidating figure and an astounding feat. I bow down.

So as you start to taper your runs in the next couple of weeks — and as your fund-raising deadline gets closer — just know we see you, we appreciate you, and we are cheering you on. In that spirit, your fans at the Globe have created a monster running song playlist to help make those miles fly by. Hit play, hit shuffle, and hit the road. We know that while you’re out there sweating out the miles, you might also be sweating over how to raise more money. But at least deciding what to listen to will be no sweat. We’ve got you covered.

And maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to follow in your footsteps.

Your No. 1 fan,

Chris Morris

🧩 5 Down: Thespian | ⛈️ 62º Possible thunderstorm

Boston and Massachusetts

• Fair fight: A youth jobs fair run by Mayor Michelle Wu’s office was canceled over the weekend after an altercation broke out among attendees.
• Sandra Birchmore: The federal government accuses a former Stoughton police officer of killing Birchmore, but the state medical examiner refuses to change its finding that she died by suicide.
• Hostile work environment: Patient attacks on health care workers have increased. A nurses union and hospital group want state lawmakers to act. 
• Ramadan concludes: Thousands gathered at the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury to celebrate the holy month’s end.
• Catch up: As Karen Read prepares to stand trial again for allegedly killing her police officer boyfriend, here’s what has happened since her last trial ended in a hung jury.

Trump administration

• Intro to semantics: As universities change their policies and remove staff under pressure from Trump, their leaders say they’re “adapting,” not capitulating.
• Credit where due: Pro-Israel groups that created lists of pro-Palestinian activists they accuse of antisemitism are crowing over Trump’s detentions of foreign students.
• Trouble among friends: Trump threatened tariffs if Russia blocks a peace deal with Ukraine, saying he was “pissed off” about Vladimir Putin’s call for a new Ukrainian government. (NBC)
• Lagging behind: As other Democrat-controlled states pass measures opposing Trump’s actions, Massachusetts lawmakers have been slower to act than they were in his first term.
• Denied: Mike Waltz, Trump’s national security adviser, says he’s never met or spoken to Jeffrey Goldberg, the journalist Waltz accidentally added to a sensitive group chat. Goldberg says that’s not true. (NBC)
• Security guard: FDR started Social Security. His grandson, Boston lawyer Jim Roosevelt, wants to save it from the administration’s cuts to staff and services.

The Nation and the World

• Left over: IVF patients confront an increasingly personal — and political — question: What to do with the extra embryos?
• Voted down: Louisianans rejected all four of their Republican governor’s proposed constitutional amendments, including one that would have made it easier to put minors in adult jails. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• Turkey unrest: Hundreds of thousands massed at a rally in Istanbul organized by the country’s leading opposition party to oppose the arrest of its presidential candidate. (RFE/RL)
• Throwback: As Russia attacks Ukraine, Norway is reactivating Cold War-era military bunkers used for storing fighter planes. (BBC)

By Teresa Hanafin, Globe Staff

🗓️ Boston at a Bargain: Free things to do this week include a drag artist trivia in Back Bay and live jazz at a Roxbury brewery.

📺 This week’s TV: Michelle Williams in “Dying for Sex,” Kevin Bacon in “The Bondsman,” and more.

💰 Boomer bucks: Millennials could become the richest generation ever as they inherit a staggering amount of wealth from their parents and grandparents — the largest wealth transfer in history. (Morning Brew)

🥤 Popping: Those popular prebiotic drinks contain inulin, a fiber that’s hard to digest and can cause bloating and maybe even cancer. (Axios)

🎸 Calming the chaos: Last year, Somerville’s PorchFest clogged the streets of this 80,000-person city. This May, the music event will have more rules.

📕 Making choices: In her latest book, writer Maggie Smith says creativity in the craft of writing and in life both require imagination. (WBUR)

🎨 A sunny revelation: The new Van Gogh exhibit at the MFA glows with the warmth and amity the artist found in the southern French town of Arles, critic Murray Whyte writes.

🌲 Rooted: An outdoors writer suggests that instead of burying bodies in a sterile cemetery, we should inter them in living forests. (Outside)

☕️ Makeover: Vienna, replete with rich history, opulent architecture, and intellectual legacies, has undergone a contemporary transformation.

🪦 Epilogue: Stephen Bither’s role in the Wicked Good Band — as its pianist, vocalist, business manager, van driver, and more — cemented his place in Maine’s cultural landscape. He died at 76. (Portland Press Herald)

Thanks for reading Starting Point.

This newsletter was edited by Teresa Hanafin and produced by Bill Geshwender and Diamond Naga Siu.

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Chris Morris can be reached at christine.morris@globe.com. Follow her @morrisglobe.