Most students late in the academic year are focused on practicing their interview techniques, spending time with friends and teammates, and surviving final exams before moving the tassel on their mortarboard or starting a summer job. Kaylene Murphy ('18) and Zach O'Neil's ('19) priorities for this spring, however, were much bigger.

Last month, Kaylene (cross country and softball) and Zach (soccer) ran the Boston Marathon in aid of charitable causes. Kaylene raised over $11,400 for Dana-Farber Cancer Research, while Zach was given almost $6,000 in donations for MitoAction. Both athletes chose their organizations for personal reasons.

The race is a family tradition for the former, with Kaylene the fourth Murphy to complete the marathon. At 14, Kaylene was cheering on her father and aunt as they completed the last mile in support of Dana-Farber. Next to her was her mother, in the final stages of breast cancer, and a patient of Dana-Farber. Despite being wracked with pain, Kaylene's mother jumped in and crossed the finish line with her sister, Kaylene's aunt, inspiring Kaylene to run.

After running the marathon in 2016 with her brother A.J. ('16), this time Kaylene had her sister, Abby, join her for a portion of the race. Though she is hesitant to mention it, Kaylene spent some time in Dana Farber herself this winter and, as will surprise no one who has met her, made some big fans.

"When I was in the hospital, I was pretty sick, and the thing that motivated me was running the marathon," explained Murphy. "Every day they changed a countdown on the whiteboard to help me keep my goal in mind. [On difficult days,] I used to write in dry-erase on the window, 'Just a bad day, not a bad life' and when I saw my nurses, they had a sign that said exactly that, with '#KayleneStrong' underneath. I was so happy to see that and stopped to hug them!"

"The slogan for Dana-Farber is, 'Racing towards the ultimate finish line.' That was what I thought when I finished [and] that was why I started. I was so grateful that I am physically capable of running. I want to inspire other people to run."

Meanwhile, O'Neil supported the work of MitoAction, a cause that O'Neil learned about through his time with Buccaneer soccer. Like most MMA sports, the squad has partnered with Team ACTION to link children with life-threatening illnesses to local sports teams. O'Neil has become close with Thomas, a Team IMPACT addition who suffers from mitochondrial disease.

"Towards the end, I was thinking about the day I got my number and that was awesome," remarked O'Neil. "I thought about a lot of the hard runs I had. I did a run in January and it was nine and I ran more miles that it was degrees outside. I just kept telling myself it was worth it."

Kaylene finished the marathon in 4:43:21, just after O'Neil at 4:14:55. You can find out more about the two runners at bit.ly/KayleneMarathon and bit.ly/ONeilBoston.