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In This Issue:
The 133 members of Team Brigham have different backgrounds and different sources of inspiration and motivation. What unites them is their commitment to running the Boston marathon and raising $500,000 to support community health programs run by BWH. This year, 16 of the team members are BWHers. Read four of their stories below.
Laura Garren, OTR/L Rehabilitation Services
Although it's her first marathon, Garren is a veteran runner who ran competitively on cross country and indoor and outdoor track teams at Quinnipiac University, a Division I school. These days, competing regularly in triathlons keeps her in tip-top shape.
Garren is passionate about supporting community health programs, and she raised a large sum of money by throwing a party at the Bell in Hand Tavern. She asked local restaurants, spas and salons to donate gift certificates, which she raffled at her party.
"Being able to run and support where you work is great," Garren said.
Labor and Delivery
Blake ran the marathon in 2000 and 2001, and decided this year to join Team Brigham. "I was inspired that Team Brigham gives money to the community," Blake said. "In particular, we refer our pregnant patients who are domestic violence abuse victims to Passageway for support." The 2006 Boston Marathon is especially significant for Blake and her husband, who is running with the United Way team. The couple moves to Scotland with their 14-month-old daughter Sarah in May. "It's a good way to finish our time here," she said. "We get to leave Boston on a high note."
Michael Baldwin, MD Resident, Radiology
Baldwin's first marathon experience was less fulfilling than he'd hoped. During the 2005 Boston Marathon, he was surrounded by people running in support of causes or in memory of loved ones, whose names were written on their shirts. "I admired those running for a cause and wanted to have that experience," he said.
That's one reason that Baldwin, a recreational runner who also completed the Philadelphia Marathon last fall, joined Team Brigham. He finds distance running creates a sense of balance in his hectic schedule. "I think if your hobbies are challenging physically and mentally, it makes your work and other responsibilities seem more manageable."
Patty Hill-Callahan Development
In addition to the motivation of raising money for community health programs, Hill-Callahan's got another source of inspiration: her father, who died six years ago. "I'm running in his memory," she said. "He believed so much in giving back to the community; he would have loved this."
Hill-Callahan's father spent the years after his retirement volunteering his services to many organizations in Hartford, Conn. Now, Hill-Callahan is talking to her three children about the importance of giving back to the community while she trains for the marathon. "I hope everyone in his or her lifetime gets to do something like this," she said. "It's a very fulfilling way to give back."