This month, we asked those in the BWH community to tell us more about what motivated them to run in the 2015 Boston Marathon as part of the “Running to Remember Dr. Michael J. Davidson” team or the Life.Giving.Breakthroughs. or Stepping Strong marathon teams. Their answers appear below. Want to add your thoughts? Tell us why you run in the comments section.

Robert Riviello

“I am thrilled to be running with Life.Giving.Breakthroughs. By supporting global surgery research, BWH is finding solutions to the flood of needless deaths from injuries and other surgical conditions the world over. What an inspiration!”

-Robert Riviello, MD, MPH, associate surgeon, Department of Surgery

Michael Allen Smith

“I’m a recent transplant to Boston. Though always a runner I was never so inspired to run a full marathon until the events of the Boston Marathon 2013 and upon seeing all the great work that BWH hospital does for the its patients and researchers such as myself. Feeling rallied together after the tragedy and into a sense of purpose and community, I made a promise to run the marathon on behalf of BWH two years later. I am an Alzheimer’s disease researcher at BWH and a member of the 2015 marathon team. As both a researcher and the grandson of someone suffering from the disease, this is very much a prominent topic for me.”

-Michael Allen Smith, MS, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Hypertension

Caroline Fox

“I am running to honor the memory of Dr. Michael Davidson, a friend, neighbor, and colleague who was tragically taken in a senseless act of violence. I am also running to honor his family, Dr. Terri Halperin and their children.”

-Caroline Fox, MD, endocrine physician, Department of Medicine

Charles Nyman

“In the days after Jan 20, I felt powerless and needed something to focus on. I immediately wanted to join the team, for the obvious reason of helping the Davidson family.  Beyond the money raised, what I discovered was that training and running with friends and colleagues has helped me recover from the tragedy on a personal level as well.”

-Charles B. Nyman, MD, associate director of Interventional Cardiac Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine

Kristen McIntire

“I work at the BWH Asthma Research Center, where we are dedicated to conducting research that advances the treatment and understanding of asthma. Over 34 million people have been diagnosed with asthma, which is a disease that can limit a person’s ability to work, play, exercise or even carry out their everyday functions. Running 26.2 miles is difficult, and I can only imagine how much harder that would be for someone with asthma. I’ll be running on the Life.Giving.Breakthroughs. team in support of all our participants, physicians, and research staff who are making a difference every day. I am inspired by all of the BWH goals for this capital campaign, and am honored to be helping support the future of medicine within our walls and in the outside community. It will be an amazing feeling to run the Boston Marathon, and I am excited to be able to do it while helping to support others who need it!”

-Kristen McIntire, research assistant, Asthma Research Center

Ranga Papanna

“Fundraising for the BWH Life.Giving.Breakthroughs. team has given me the opportunity to spread awareness about the benefits of lifestyle modifications, including a healthy diet. These changes can prevent obesity and its complications, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and heart attack. By running in this year’s Boston Marathon, I hope to create more public awareness and help fund research and educational activities at BWH geared toward preventing obesity.”

-Ranga Papanna, MD, hospitalist, Department of Medicine

Martyna Skowron

“I feel extremely privileged to work with a variety of brilliant individuals, all of whom seem to be working on life giving breakthroughs in their respective specialty area. So, when asked why I am running the marathon, how can I pick just one reason? The truth is, I am running for the Brigham Life.Giving.Breakthroughs. team because of the everyday life giving breakthroughs that our Brigham community gives patients to make their experience special. I am running for all the small things that I see our clinical and administrative staff do that make a huge difference in the way that patients and families feel and are taken care of. I am running because every day, I am inspired by the Brigham community around me, which embraces the life giving breakthroughs mission in everything that it does. That is what gives me energy and passion and has allowed me to survive training through this terrible winter, and that is what I will think of for 26.2 miles on the day of the marathon!”

-Martyna Skowron,  administrator, Surgical Services

Kristi Mielbye

“I am running the Boston Marathon for the Brigham and Women’s Life Giving Breakthroughs Marathon team 2015. I run to honor my grandfather and grandmother and to support the Cardiac Surgery Department.”

-Kristi Mielbye, office assistant, Surgical Services