About DFMC
The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC), in collaboration with the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), organizer of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon®, enables people to run the Boston Marathon while raising critical funds to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
The DFMC took its first steps in 1990 as one of the inaugural organizations in the official B.A.A. Boston Marathon® charity program. In 25 years, DFMC has raised more than $65 million for the Barr Program and its initiatives to better understand, treat, and, ultimately, cure cancer. The DFMC directs 100 percent of funds raised to the Barr Program, which enables scientists at the leading edge of discovery to achieve better cure rates and to enhance patients' quality of life.
The DFMC team is a diverse group, ranging from young people to the young at heart, from novice runner to experienced marathoner, from New England states to faraway continents, from college students to homemakers, from CEOs to retirees. This "invitational" marathon roster includes runner-fundraisers who are not time-qualified for the Boston Marathon® as well as a sizeable contingent of Boston qualifiers. Virtually every teammate has been touched in some way by cancer. These dedicated individuals are united by their tremendous personal commitment to fighting this terrible disease through the fundraising and training components of DFMC.
In 2017, the DFMC team aims to celebrate its 28nd year by raising $5.4 million for the Barr Program.
