Tell us a little about yourself.
I have been married to my beautiful wife, Carol, for 27 years. We are the parents of three children: Anna, Emily, and Jackson.

What is your favorite Team Boomer memory?
Crossing the finish line in the 2013 New York City Marathon. It marked the completion of two years of hard work with some big set-backs along the way. It was the fulfillment of a commitment to my daughter, Anna.

What is your best fundraising tip?
Let everyone in your sphere of influence know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Use social media. You’ll be amazed where the money comes from. You may be shocked by the amounts given by people you hardly know. One of my patients has a foundation that contributes money to CF research, and I didn’t know this. She gave a 4-figure contribution.

Why do you run?
I started running in November 2011 with the goal of running in the 2012 New York City Marathon and raising $5000 for the Boomer Esiason Foundation. I wanted to make a bold statement of commitment to my 17 year-old daughter, Anna, who was born with CF. I wanted to show her that I would push myself to do something extremely difficult for a cause that would benefit her. At the same time, I wanted to inspire her to push herself to adhere to a difficult regimen of daily treatment in order to stay as healthy as possible.

After months of training and fundraising I was ready for the marathon and had exceeded my fundraising goal by about $15,000. However, the 2012 marathon was cancelled due to a catastrophic weather event known as Hurricane Sandy. My focus at that time was on Anna, who was in the ICU on a ventilator. She had developed a lung infection from which she would not recover, and she passed away on November 15, 2012.

I trained for the 2013 NYC marathon, and finishing was a very emotional experience. I have continued to run because I enjoy it, and because I feel a connection with Anna when I run. I am doing something that began as an effort to help her. Running has helped me to heal and to deal with grief. I am motivated to strike back at CF by raising money to fight it.

About me:
I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at Yale Children’s Hospital when I was three months old.  I have 2 older brothers who do not have CF – Conor (21), and Trevor (18). I grew up in Darien and have played every sport you could name growing up including lacrosse, hockey, golf, tennis, baseball, basketball, squash, and paddle. My favorite sport is Lacrosse. I played this past spring on the Darien Youth Lacrosse 8th grade travel A team. I play year round with a club lacrosse team Long Island Express North. We went to 5 tournaments this past summer and our team won 2 of them. I am currently playing for Long Island Express North on the fall team and we will be playing in 3 college recruitment tournaments this November against the best freshman players in the country.

My Favorite Ways to Exercise
I love to play all sports but recently I have devoted all my time and effort to lacrosse. Lacrosse is the best. I play attack and just love the speed and skill needed to play the game well. Scoring goals is great but making assist passes to my teammates is really what I like the best. I also like my lacrosse teammates and coaches. They were so understanding of my situation with CF and really took a chance on me to let me play on such a competitive team. My favorite way to exercise is playing a sport, specifically lacrosse. I have played lacrosse since I was 7 with my brothers in our backyard and seems like I haven’t stopped since. Lacrosse is a great way to keep my airways open considering you never stop moving, I attribute my success with my disease to my parents always keeping me active from a young age with sports, and not treating me like I’m different from any other kid on the field, court, course, or ice.

Why I Stay Compliant
I am motivated to stay compliant with my treatments because my goal is to play high school lacrosse and then DI lacrosse in college. I have been blessed to be using the new treatment Kalydeco and it has helped me immensely as I have put on 20 pounds and have never felt better in terms of my breathing and overall health. My parents have always told me that doing my treatments everyday would keep me ready for when one day the cure for CF would be discovered and I have bought in to that belief. Kalydeco is one huge stride closer, I believe, to a cure.

Who is My Role Model?
My role model – that is a tough question because I have so many great people who I look up to. Mr. Raymond, Mr. Barnard and all the dedicated parents that make Darien Youth Lacrosse possible are role models. Coach Waldron, Coach Muller, and Coach Schreiber are big motivators for me and are role models. My parents are also my role models. My father is the hardest worker I know and never stops. He is always looking out for my brothers and me and finding ways to help us with our lives. My mother is always there for us to help us during the day. My mom has always been a huge supporter of my goals and helps me to achieve them.

I learned about Team Boomer…
My parents have been involved with Team Boomer and BEF from when I was first diagnosed with CF. Most recently my neighbor Mr. David Short ran the NYC marathon and raised money for Team Boomer. His wife, Lissa Short, has also raised money for Team Boomer and has run the marathon so many times for the cause. I also attended a Team Boomer golf event in New Jersey last fall playing with my father and played in Boomer’s group. I wear Team Boomer t-shirts and wristbands when I play lacrosse.

My son Stephen, who was diagnosed at 3 months old, is now 30. My husband, Gene, and I raised Stephen as normally as possible – never keeping him in a bubble.

I got involved with the Boomer Esiason Foundation and Team Boomer in 2011 when Stephen asked me to run the NYC Marathon because there were a few spots still open on the team. I have always been athletic, never really a runner – but I said yes. I started training in April 2011 and haven’t stopped since. The 2014 NYC Marathon will be my third for Team Boomer – and I also run the NYC Half Marathon as well as Boomer’s CF Run to Breath every July. Running makes me feel free and gives me a way to raise money for CF.

I have launched a personal blog – http://www.marathonmomforcf.com/ – in the hopes that I can shed light on what it is like to raise a child with CF. When Stephen was diagnosed, someone told me, “You are strong, and you can handle this.” Those words and the wonderful support we have from family and friends have made all the difference. I want to pay it forward and try to help other families as much as I can.

What is my favorite memory with Team Boomer?
My favorite memory is from the BEF gala this past March when Stephen was given the Michael Brennan Courage Away. We made a video – people from his life talked about how he inspires them every day. He truly looks at life with the glass half full. Stephen is successful in his job, in his every day life, and most importantly, has recently married his soul mate. Words cannot express how happy I am for all of his blessings.

Why do I run?
I run because Stephen is my inspiration. If he can wake up and train, then so can mom.

About me:  I am born and raised on Long Island.  Met my wife Melissa out in Pennsylvania while attending Indiana University of PA.  Convinced her to move to New York with me and 20 years later, we have two beautiful daughters, Lauren (11) and Erin (8) and live in Smithtown.

Best Team Boomer Memory:  I joined Team Boomer years ago, meeting many members of organization at the Great South Bay Triathlon.  Since then, I have enjoyed participating in various Team Boomer events, but my favorite was the NYC Half Marathon in 2013.  It was three short weeks until the event and Team Boomer was looking for last minute entries to fill the roster.  After contemplating this for a few days, I decided to sign up, having never run more then 7 miles at a stretch before.  Goals were all accomplished, and some were more challenging then others:  raise money for the foundation in such a short period of time, find time to train in three weeks with a busy travel schedule and complete the Half Marathon without walking.

Best Fundraising Tip: Reach out to family, friends, business associates and anyone who will listen.  Spread the word why you run, who you are running for, tell your story.  People want to do good; they want to help.  First and foremost, it is about why you run.  I often find that many people do not understand what CF is, how it affects people, and why it is important to raise funds and continue research that will help fight this deadly disease.  This brings people closer to why they are donating and ultimately helping you raise money to meet and exceed your goals.  Then, go out and use that support group to motivate you across that finish line!

Why do I run:  Because I can.  Because I “retired” from soccer years ago, after a few minor surgeries and needed to find something that would not put me in the hospital again.  I always ran, but not like I do today.  Back then, I ran to train, today I run to stay healthy and fit.  For me though, running can be boring, so I got the bike, started to swim and enjoy the multi sport world of triathlon today.  I have Team Boomer to thank for that.  I also participate in these events to challenge myself and to show my girls they can do anything with a plan, hard work, and WILL.

Tell us a little about yourselves…
We live in Bobby’s hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Roll Tide) with our two young sons, Boots (8) and Thomas (6). We’ve been married 14 years and have trained together for the New York Marathon 3 years in a row, although this is only our second year to run it because of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. This year we are really excited to have 3 friends running with us for Team Boomer in New York. 5 people from Tuscaloosa, AL – all running the New York Marathon for cystic fibrosis….pretty cool.

Why Team Boomer?
Thomas, our 6 year old was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was only 10 weeks old. From the moment he was diagnosed we vowed to do everything we could in order to find a cure for CF…even if it means getting out of our comfort zone and training for a marathon.

Running with Team Boomer has been an amazing experience. We have made friends from literally all over the world through Team Boomer.Three years ago, we had the chance to actually speak to Boomer before the team dinner. We didn’t talk long but what he said really resonated with us. He talked about how you hate for your kid to have CF and you would do anything in the world to change it but if there is an upside, it has to be how as a parent you treasure every single milestone and accomplishment. His statement that watching your child with CF get a hit in little league feels like you’ve just won the Super Bowl is so true.

What are you fundraising suggestions? 
Just tell your story. Asking people for money is uncomfortable for most people and was certainly true of us. However, over the years, I have realized that not asking is not keeping with the promise we made to ourselves to do everything possible to cure CF. Quite literally Thomas’ life depends on it. I am no longer afraid to ask people for money. Some say no, and that’s ok, but I’ve found that a direct ask usually gets a positive response.

Why do you and Bobby run?
To say I have never been much of an athlete is putting it mildly. Bobby, on the other hand, has always excelled in sports. When he came up with the idea for us to train for a marathon, I thought he was crazy. I also knew that I wanted our sons to grow up knowing they could do anything they wanted to do, no matter how crazy, or how hard it might seem. I also hope they will see the importance we put on physical activity and will remain active throughout their lives, particularly given the importance of exercise to those with CF.