Bridget Kondrat (left), Maggie Chiappetta-Uberti, Brooke Stanford, and Andrew Athanasian prepare for the 2025 Boston Marathon along the Charles River.
Photograph by Dylan Goodman
Campus & Community
Heartbreak Hill? These long-distance runners have faced bigger challenges.
Inspiration from loved ones propels College runners to endure against illness
For two years, sorrow weighed heavily on her body, akin to a pressure-cooker.
“It wasn’t until my third year that I stumbled upon something that truly aided in expressing my feelings,” remarked Brooke Stanford ’25, who lost her mother, Andrea, to pancreatic cancer just two weeks prior to starting college as a freshman in 2021.
“Running became the one thing that genuinely helped.”
Now, Stanford utilizes this sport to pay tribute to her mother and assist other families grappling with the illness. She’s been training for this year’s Boston Marathon while gathering funds for Project Purple, a nonprofit organization committed to battling pancreatic cancer and supporting those affected. Each year, the Boston Athletic Association collaborates with a selection of charities, which, in turn, recruit marathon runners to raise funds in anticipation of race day.
Stanford won’t be the sole College runner navigating the 26.2-mile route for a cherished one on April 21. All these students are aiming for a commendable finish — and a fundraising achievement for a cause close to their hearts.
‘I was simply thrilled to have this opportunity’
Stanford discovered Project Purple last summer while perusing a list of accepted charities for the marathon.
“I realized I would like to run for some form of cancer research organization, yet I didn’t expect to find one so aligned with my personal experience,” she explained. “After that, I made it my primary goal to secure a position on the Project Purple team.”
The challenge was that the odds were comparable to being admitted to Harvard.
“I received just under 150 applications for five positions,” shared Project Purple program director Vin Kampf.
Stanford, a Dunster House inhabitant majoring in applied mathematics, soon found herself entangled in phone conversations and interviews with Kampf and other leaders of the nonprofit.
“You would assume I was applying for a role at an investment firm,” she noted. “Many people believe the toughest aspect of running for a charity is fundraising. However, the most difficult part is undoubtedly securing a place on the team.”
The final hurdle was a formal presentation of her fundraising strategy to Project Purple last autumn. “I dedicated an entire week to create a highly detailed PowerPoint and Excel document,” Stanford recalled, pledging to raise $50,000 by soliciting individual contributions and organizing special events. “I spent significantly more time on that than on any assignment Harvard has ever assigned to me.”
A week later, she received the wonderful news during an emotional call with Kampf. “I was just so overjoyed to have this opportunity — and to do it in honor of my mom,” she expressed.
The first-time marathon runner, who sports purple leggings for every training run, has continued to invest her maximum effort. She exceeded her $50,000 goal nearly two months ago and currently ranks among the Top 10 fundraisers for the Boston Marathon this year. According to Kampf, she is also among the most successful charity runners in Project Purple’s history.
“In certain respects, I feel as though I have discovered my life’s purpose,” Stanford remarked. “I aspire to engage more with Project Purple. I want to contribute further to making a difference. I want to help eradicate pancreatic cancer.”
‘Just imagine if this was the Boston Marathon’
Initially, Grace Taylor ’25 didn’t inform
her acquaintances regarding her cancer revelation. She was preoccupied with her role as a peer adviser for new first-year students.
“I aimed to be the finest peer adviser possible,” Taylor expressed, then a burgeoning sophomore. “I realized that if I allowed my personal issues to intrude, I wouldn’t be able to support the entryway effectively.”
A few days after, when she reached out to her friend Andrew Athanasian ’25, he was somewhat preoccupied as well.
“I was traversing the river on my way to the gym when Grace messaged, ‘Hey, can we chat?’” Athanasian reminisced. “I asked, ‘Is it urgent?’ To which she replied, ‘Not really, no.’”
“I didn’t want to disrupt my workout!” joked Taylor, a Crimson lacrosse athlete.
Later that day, Taylor shared the information. Athanasian promptly took action, becoming a steadfast support during his friend’s battle with an aggressive variant of thyroid cancer. Together with Taylor’s Quincy House roommate, Amy Wotovich, they made numerous trips to BerryLine for (among other treats) throat-soothing ice cream. With their aid and that of her parents, Taylor indicated she managed to continue her studies without withdrawing for the semester.
Athanasian, an economics major living in Lowell House, joined Taylor and her family last autumn at the Mass General Brigham Eversource Cancer 5k, an event that benefitted the oncology practice that guided Taylor through two surgical procedures and radioactive iodine therapy.
“Witnessing how Grace and her family reacted to that 5k,” Athanasian noted, “I found myself pondering: ‘Just think if this were the Boston Marathon.’”
After securing a place on the Mass General Marathon Team, the inaugural marathon runner has turned that idea into reality. Athanasian aspires to raise $10,000 for the hospital’s pediatric oncology department, with a portion of the funds designated for the adolescent and young adult cancer initiative that supported Taylor during her treatment to remission.
“I’m running for Grace, but I’m also racing for everyone who didn’t survive,” Athanasian stressed, recalling a friend from his Long Island hometown who succumbed to brain cancer at 17. A devoted Catholic, he has marked his Asics with scripture references as a reminder of his motivation. (Hebrews 12:1, on his right, seems perfectly suited for today’s charitable runner.)
On race day, Taylor hopes to catch sight of her friend at the gathering organized by Mass General, an established presence at Mile 20 — just before the path ascends Heartbreak Hill.
“That’s the toughest segment of the course,” Athanasian remarked. “But they’re inviting all the pediatric oncology patients to cheer us on. How can you not transform into Usain Bolt after seeing those youngsters?”
‘The chance to lean on her strength’
Every Sunday, Bridget Kondrat ’26 from Cohasset, Mass., would attend Mass with her extensive family. Afterwards, they would all gather at her grandparents’ home to spend the day together.
“We have always been extremely close,” stated Kondrat, who has three siblings and 18 cousins. “And my Nana was truly the heart of our family.”
For 14 years, Kondrat’s maternal grandmother, Cleida Buckley, battled multiple myeloma with the assistance of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Despite everything, the 5-foot-2 dynamo upheld her role as the family’s hostess and connector.
“She consistently showed up for us,” Kondrat reflected.
Watching the marathon became a cherished family tradition after Kondrat’s mother, Liz, participated in 2000, with Buckley making a lasting impression from her seat on Heartbreak Hill.
“She looked so incredibly cute, sitting there in Newton Centre with her tiny beach chair,” Liz recalled.
This is why preparing for the 2025 event with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team felt like the ideal way to commemorate her grandmother, who passed away in 2022.
“Running with Dana-Farber allows me the opportunity to draw on her strength,” remarked Kondrat, who hopes to gather $10,000.
The Harvard-Radcliffe rower and Eliot House resident has set ambitious aspirations for her second marathon. Charity participants can join the Boston Marathon without adhering to the race’s stringent qualifying times. However, the economics major hopes to surpass the event’s official 3 hour and 25-minute cutoff (which requires an average pace of 7:49 per mile) for women aged 34 and younger.
Kondrat, who began running with her mom in fourth grade, has been following an intensive training regimen comprising speed exercises, intervals, and extended runs at her intended marathon pace.
“I rode alongside her last week while she ran 12 miles,” Liz mentioned. “She maintained a pace of 7:30s the entire time!”
Maintaining this routine has been a hurdle for a full-time student-athlete and part-time fundraiser, Kondrat noted. But it pales in comparison to the marathon struggle Buckley faced.
“Whenever I find myself complaining or lacking motivation,” Kondrat shared, “I simply reflect on everything I witnessed my Nana endure.”
‘She began displaying her medals to me’
During seventh grade, Maggie Chiappetta-Uberti ’26 returned home feeling disheartened after experiencing her first track practice. She was fatigued. Her muscles ached. All that she desired was to give up.
“My mother Lainee took the time to talk to me and immediately began to instill confidence in me,” Chiappetta-Uberti recounted. “She started sharing stories about the records she achieved in both middle and high school. She also began to show me her awards.”
This encouragement motivated Chiappetta-Uberti to persevere. “I’m truly thankful to her for urging me to carry on,” stated the resident of Kirkland House, who actively participated in cross-country and track throughout her high school years.
Her mother, Lainee Uberti, received a diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 58. “She promptly began walking four miles every day,” Chiappetta-Uberti recalled, who was in ninth grade during that period.
Over six years later, Uberti remains devoted to her daily walks. “Being out there, whether it’s running or walking,” she expressed in an interview, “that keeps us moving forward.”
Once again, that resilience has motivated her daughter to confront a significant challenge. Chiappetta-Uberti is preparing for her inaugural marathon while collecting donations for the Alzheimer’s Association. Each member of Team End ALZ is expected to raise a minimum of $10,000. However, the neuroscience major has set a more ambitious target of $26,200 — which equals $1,000 for each mile.
As part of her initiative, she is also creating a TikTok account featuring training clips, Alzheimer’s awareness content, and tributes to Uberti.
“It’s incredibly meaningful that Maggie is going above and beyond — no pun intended — to increase awareness, gather funds, and wholeheartedly represent our family,” remarked Chiappetta-Uberti’s other parent, Laura Chiappetta. Both mothers plan to travel from their home in Los Angeles to support their daughter in her 26.2-mile debut.
The challenging race feels like a fitting tribute as her mother battles an incurable condition such as Alzheimer’s, Chiappetta-Uberti shared. “I want her to realize that she has support — she is not facing this challenge alone.”