Valerie Bertinelli, Tom Brady's siblings and a boy in a burger suit are just some of the big-hearted runners today who will help the Boston Marathon race past the $100-million mark in charitable dollars raised since 1989.
It's the world's oldest and most venerable annual race. But this year it is among the most charitable, too. The Boston Marathon expects to exceed $100 million in total funds raised by its official charity program since it started in 1989. The Boston Marathon draws a field of 26,750 competitive runners, including the largest field of women ever this year (more than 11,000), but in order to run, entrants must run in one of 400 qualifying marathons around the world. One way to skip the qualifier, however, is to run under the aegis of one of 24 Boston Marathon official charities. This year, 1,350 runners from those 24 charities are expected to raise more than $10 million.
John Hancock Financial, which has served as the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon for 25 years, also provides spots to charity runners as part of its sponsorship privileges. The 24 official Boston Marathon charities includes the American Liver Foundation, which was the first and only Boston Marathon charity in 1989 raising $6,600, and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, which has drawn runners from around the world with the goal of raising $4.4 million on Monday. Among Dana-Farber's marathoners will be actress and Jenny Craig pitchwoman Valerie Bertinelli (below, left), who is strapping on her running shoes and will follow the historic 26.2 mile route from Hopkinton to Boston.
