Maria Amparo Haynes of Elk Grove along with more than 500 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge teammates from across the United States will be running in the 2025 Boston Marathon. Photo courtesy of Pixaby

SACRAMETNO REGION, CA (MPG) - On April 21, Maria Amparo Haynes of Elk Grove is running to defy cancer as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team in the 129th Boston Marathon.

Along with more than 500 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge teammates from across the United States and around the world, they will run Massachusetts’ historic marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston to collectively raise $8.5 million for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

This year marks the 36th annual running of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. One hundred percent of the money raised by the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team benefits Dana-Farber’s Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, which supports promising science research in its earliest stages. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge has raised more than $132 million for the Barr Program to date.

In 1990, Dana-Farber was among the first charity organizations to be recognized by the Boston Athletic Association, 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 Open Division Champion Jack Fultz, and team training runs. Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge runners who are not time-qualified for the Boston Marathon receive an invitational entry into the race.

Runners include cancer survivors and patients, and family and friends of those who have been affected by cancer.

Each team member must fulfill a basic fundraising commitment of $10,000 for runners who receive their entry from Dana-Farber and $4,000 for runners who have obtained their own race entry.

To contribute to the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, visit RunDFMC.org or contact the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge office at 617-632-1970.