 |
Dr. Phillip Fields speaks to runners at the start of the Prairie Fire Marathon in Wichita, Kan., about finding their passion to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
|
Following his diagnosis of leukemia in 2008, USA College of Medicine professor Dr. Phillip Fields set a goal to run a marathon in every state.
His goal of running in 50 marathons across the USA– which he checked off in 2012 – became one of many.
Now, he’s raising money for the Dana-Farber Foundation in order to gain a charity entry into the Boston Marathon, which will be held on April 16, 2018. If he reaches his goal, the Boston Marathon will be his 100th marathon since his leukemia diagnosis.
To accomplish this, he applied to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, a team from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dr. Fields was selected for the marathon team, and by reaching his fundraising goal of $5,000, will receive entry into the Boston Marathon.
“As a cancer survivor, I cannot think of a more satisfying and selfless reason to run than to run for others with cancer,” Dr. Fields said.
He tells others to live each day as if it is your last; to challenge your limits instead of limiting your challenges; and to stop procrastinating on things that aren't important. “Someone once said, ‘We spend so much time making a living that we forget to live,’” Dr. Fields said. “I deleted the word procrastinate from my vocabulary.”
Dr. Fields said he is overwhelmed with the support he has gotten from friends, faculty and the medical and physician assistant students. “None of these people can begin to imagine how important the Boston Marathon is to me, but still they have been exceedingly generous,” he said.
“No donation is too small. A single grain of sand put together with countless others creates a beautiful beach,” Dr. Fields said.
To support Dr. Fields’ efforts and donate toward his spot at the Boston Marathon, click here.
