Felicia Bianchi honors her dad by running in the Boston Marathon

In April 2015, my dad, Philip Bianchi, passed away as my sister was finishing the Boston Marathon and just as I was landing in Boston’s Logan Airport to be at his bedside. I swore then that I would return in 2016 to run “Boston” with my sister so that we could honor his memory.

I grew up watching the Marathon with my Dad near Boston College (famous for Heartbreak Hill that comes when your legs are totally shot at mile 20). I had run marathons before and realized that I would much rather swim than run 26 miles. Still, I really wanted to do this for my dad.

My sister is a fast runner and had earned a qualifying bib to race in the Marathon. I am not fast (unless I am in the water) so the only other way for me to make it into the race was to be awarded one of the few coveted charity bibs. I spent several months writing applications and contacting people until I finally secured a spot on Team Red Cross in memory of my dad and in honor of my grandmother, Heather Ratcliff, who worked for the Red Cross Cambridge chapter for many years.

My Gran retired from the Royal Air Force (GBR) in 1963 and came to the US. She got a job working at the Red Cross teaching first aid and CPR. She was not a big person but she taught all of the Cambridge Fire departments CPR. She also worked support during Hurricane Camille and was one of the first people to teach CPR to the blind.

I spent November thru April training and raising funds for the Red Cross of Massachusetts. I received tremendous support from people here at Emory. They donated to my cause, cheered my running, joined me for parts of my long training runs, and forgave me as I limped in to project meetings. So many people helped me get to the starting line, which is harder than the race itself, and I certainly could not have done it alone.

On April 18, on an unseasonably hot day, I ran (well, shuffled) the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston and finished the race. The crowds were amazing, the runners were great and I finished without cramping, so I was happy.

Thanks, Dad and Gran. You helped me cross that finish line.