Amanda's Boston Marathon Journey with DFMC: Running Towards a Cure

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Amanda's Boston Marathon Journey with DFMC: Running Towards a Cure

This marks my fifth consecutive year running the Boston Marathon with the DFMC team.

Running for my mom’s memory and my boys’ tomorrow. 💛 Past the Finish — where every mile has meaning.

06/01/2026

May looked a little different this year. 🤍

Still on crutches. No running. Race after race crossed off the calendar. For someone who measures the year in miles, this was not the spring I trained for.

But sidelined doesn’t mean stopped.

I cheered from more sidelines than I can count, said yes to friends I’d been missing, and let the people I love carry me a little. And then — finally — I got cleared to start pool running. It’s humbling. It is nothing like the road. But it’s movement, and it’s forward, and after weeks of stillness that felt like everything.

The comeback starts in the water. The crutches just come along for the ride.

$Well, these crutches are staying. 🤍I had no clue my stress fracture was as bad as it was until I walked into my doctor’s...$

05/25/2026

Well, these crutches are staying. 🤍

I had no clue my stress fracture was as bad as it was until I walked into my doctor’s office on Friday and she brought two surgeons in with her. That’s when my stomach dropped.

I really believed this appointment was going to be about scheduling my next MRI and talking PT. I thought June 5th meant crutches off. I was wrong on both counts.

The verdict: all three of them agree I don’t need surgery — but I’m close enough to that line that I have to stay on crutches. Starting June 5th, I can walk 2 minutes a day without them. Each week I add a little more. JULY 13th is the hopeful day.

I’m not gonna lie, it’s been hard to process. I keep having to remind myself of the wins: no surgery. No follow-up MRI. Cleared to start water running and upper body weights.

Pool running belt incoming. Amanda’s Revenge Tour 2027 starts now.

📸 a candid from my boys — my favorite medicine

$Tomorrow I see my doctor.It’ll mark 4 weeks since my MRI showed a stress fracture in my hip. Four weeks on crutches. Fou...$

05/21/2026

Tomorrow I see my doctor.

It’ll mark 4 weeks since my MRI showed a stress fracture in my hip. Four weeks on crutches. Four weeks of not walking, never mind running.

I’m praying for good news. Praying I’m slowly finding my way back to the road.

But the truth? The thing I miss most isn’t the running.

It’s waking up with purpose. With a goal. With something that pushes me, grounds me, dares me to become more than I was the day before.

I miss track nights. Weekend long runs. The conversations only runners understand. The little waves, nods, and smiles when you pass someone on the road — those tiny human connections that make the world feel softer and bigger than yourself.

I miss racing. Standing at the start line just before the gun, heart pounding like the beat drop in a club.

I miss the sun on my face. The wind — ideally at my back.

But most of all, I miss who I am after the run. The high. The exhaustion. The accomplishment. That overwhelming feeling of being fully, undeniably alive.

Running is full of highs and lows. I’ll admit — I didn’t know it could feel this low.

And I know. I know it could be so much worse. I’m grateful for a body that’s healing. For the people carrying me through this. For the road still waiting.

But tomorrow, I’m praying. .lisa.dpt

05/11/2026

Mom, I miss you so much it hurts. I would give anything to hear you laugh, feel your arms around me, and tell me everything is going to be ok. Happy Mother’s Day. Always and forever. 🤍

05/08/2026

When an injury leaves you feeling lost and so unlike yourself, sometimes it takes the friend who knew you before to make you smile and remind you who you still are. 🤍

04/22/2026

Two weeks before Boston, I got hurt. And ever since then, I feel like I’ve been trying to outrun the truth.

I did everything I could to get myself to that start line. Not because I was in denial. Not because I’m reckless. But because runners know the difference between giving up and being forced to let go, and I needed to know which one this was.

Deep down, I knew.

I knew that if I tried to run through it the way my heart wanted to, I could do real long-term damage. But I also knew I had to get there and see for myself. I had to try. This race means too much to me. My team means too much to me. Boston means too much to me.

So I started.

And the second my gait changed, I knew it was over.

And honestly? That hurt more than I can put into words. Because it wasn’t just about not finishing. It was about knowing I was strong enough, fit enough, ready enough in every way that mattered except the one thing I couldn’t control. My body just said no.

But I’m still proud of myself.

Proud that I got there. Proud that I tried. Proud that I respected the line between being tough and being stupid. Proud that I stopped before I turned one injury into something that could steal even more from me.

Race morning still gave me something, though. It reminded me exactly why I love this sport so much. The laughs with my warrior crew on the way to the start. The signs friends and teammates made for me. The texts. The love. The community. And that feeling I always get of carrying my mom and everyone I love with me. That part was still there. That part was still sacred.

And maybe the biggest silver lining is this: if I hadn’t tried, I probably wouldn’t have gone to the doctor. I probably would’ve kept convincing myself it would turn around. Kept testing it. Kept dragging this out. Clean X-ray today, but now I’m on crutches and have an MRI Thursday to find out if this is a stress fracture or something else.

This one hurts. A lot. But I know myself. I know how I come back. And I know this setback is not the end of my story. The comeback will be stronger .lisa.dpt .jennwilliams.chiro

04/18/2026

Picked up my bib today and shed more tears than I wanted to. I honestly don’t know if my body will let me run on Monday, and that is breaking my heart. If you pray, please pray. If you do good vibes, I’ll take every single one. I just need a miracle that come Monday, my body can do what my heart so badly wants to do.

04/16/2026

Race weekend is here — and so is one of the hardest anniversaries.

One year ago today I lost Tanner. Not a day goes by that I don’t miss him. His snuggles, the way he’d dig in circles before getting comfy, sleeping on my head or in my arms every single night. It still feels like yesterday.

I’ve spent the last two weeks sidelined with a hip flexor injury, sitting with all of it — the grief, the anxiety, the frustration. No running it off this time. I’m heading into Monday with more question marks than I’d like and I won’t lie, I’m petrified.

But this race has never just been about the miles. I’ll carry Tanner, my mom, and my brother every single step of the way. 🤍

Send all the good vibes and prayers you’ve got this race weekend. I need every single one. 🏃‍♀️

04/10/2026

Too many miles to count!
Finish lines. Start lines. Everything in between.
You showed up in the best shoes every single time.
(And yes, I noticed. I always notice.)
You are the guy who makes hard things funny.
Who makes scary things feel possible.
Who shows up — in the snow, on the bus, at the finish line, in a bathrobe — whatever it takes.
You run with your whole heart.
You love with your whole heart.
And somehow you always know exactly which shoe I need.
Happy birthday to my running bestie, my hype man, my sneaker consultant, my person. 🎂👟
A million miles down and a million more miles to go.

Address

Newton, MA

Website

http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/pastthefinish

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