Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated actress Uzo Aduba will run the 119th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20 as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team to support cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
A Medfield, Mass. native, Aduba is best known for her role as Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on the hit Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” (2013-present), for which she won the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Aduba will join more than 500 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge teammates from across the United States and the world to run the historic route from Hopkinton to Boston, with a goal of raising $5.2 million for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber.
“Running the Boston Marathon has been a lifelong dream, and I am proud to be supporting Dana-Farber as I make this dream come true on April 20,” said Aduba. “As someone who grew up outside of Boston, I’ve always respected Dana-Farber’s groundbreaking work in cancer research. I’m honored to be a member of their team, helping to raise money to further this work so that one day we may all live in a world without cancer.”
This year marks the 26th annual running of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. One hundred percent of the money raised by the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team funds Dana-Farber’s Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. The Barr Program supports cornerstone science research in its earliest stages, providing researchers with critical resources to test their leading-edge ideas. Findings from Barr Program research can provide the results necessary to seek additional federal funding as well as novel clinical insights. Since its inception in 1990, the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge has raised more than $69 million for the Barr Program.
“We are thrilled to welcome Uzo Aduba to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge this season,” said Jan Ross, senior director of Running Programs at Dana-Farber. “It’s an honor to count Uzo as one of our dedicated DFMC teammates who commit to making a difference by supporting cancer research at Dana-Farber.”
Dana-Farber was among the first charity organizations to be recognized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), which organizes the Boston Marathon. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team offers its members extensive fundraising support, training guidance from 1976 Boston Marathon men’s champion Jack Fultz, and team training runs, plus volunteer opportunities for non-runners. Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge runners who are not time-qualified for the Boston Marathon receive an invitational entry into the race.
Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge runners include cancer survivors and patients, and family and friends of those who have been affected by cancer. Runners of all abilities participate with the goal to help put an end to cancer.
To contribute to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, go online to www.RunDFMC.org or contact the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge office at 617-632-1970 or dfmc@dfci.harvard.edu. Follow DFMC on Facebook.
The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge is one of multiple ways runners can support the lifesaving mission of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Participants can run on the official Dana-Farber team in the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the Falmouth Road Race, and the B.A.A. Half Marathon, or run in any race, of any distance, in any city, while raising funds for Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund. For more information, visit RunDanaFarber.org.
