Below is a one-minute video Fred's Team produced in 2020, with a cover shot of our namesake, Mark Kourey, and two clips of Mark talking about what it was like to run past MSK at Mile 17 of the marathon. Watch it here.
Where to find Mark
You can see Mark at 0:21, and again at 0:44, talking about his experiences in 2018 and 2019.
Mark ran his first NYC Marathon in 2018 as an individual Fred's Team runner, while he was in treatment at MSK, and raised $6,075. The following year six of us joined him, and that group became FredsTeamMark. We lost Mark in 2023. Every mile since has been run in his memory.
Why Mile 17
There is something magical about wearing that orange Fred's Team shirt and running past the hospital you are fundraising for, seeing the outpouring of emotion from the people most affected by your efforts.
And Mile 17 of a marathon is an excellent spot for a boost like that. It comes right after the Queensboro Bridge, at the point in the race where the early adrenaline is long gone and the hard miles have not quite started. Doctors, nurses, patients, and families line that block. They know exactly why you are out there. Everyone who has run it will tell you the same thing: you do not forget that stretch.
Watch it
It is one minute. If you have never understood why this team keeps coming back every November, Mark explains it better in two clips than we could in a hundred blog posts.
If you want to be on that block this year, join the team. If you would rather help from home, every dollar goes to cancer research at MSK.
