Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in New Jersey and moved to Boston for graduate school in 1999. Shortly thereafter, I began working as a scientist at a large biotechnology company and met my husband, Brian. We have two children, Colin (6) and Taryn (5). Colin was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 5 days old.

How did you get involved with Team Boomer?
Our first exposure to Team Boomer was when our friend Jen ran Run to Breathe in Colin’s honor in 2011. I remember thinking, “I really want to do that!” At the time I was just starting to find a groove as a working mom with an infant and toddler and knew that finding the time to start running and train for a 10K was not something I was ready to tackle. The next spring, my running journey started and I finished my first 5K in more than 10 years at a Turkey Trot while proudly wearing my Rock CF OutRun CF Shirt with “Running for Colin” written in neon green puffy paint. I then set my sights on Central Park.

In July 2013, my friend Julie joined me for my first Team Boomer Event – Run to Breathe. It was in the middle of a heat wave and the air quality was horrible – so bad that NYRR considered cancelling the event. Instead of cancelling, it shortened the race and changed it to a fun run. I was so excited to run with Team Boomer in Central Park – I even scored a high five from Boomer!

Disappointed to not be able to make the trip down for Run to Breathe in 2014, I remember getting an email with the reminder that any event could be a Team Boomer event. So I decided to run races locally raising awareness for cystic fibrosis and Team Boomer. In May 2015, I completed my first half marathon in Gloucester, MA and was so excited to hear “Go, Team Boomer!” as I was crossing the finish line! By the end of May we had raised more than $4000, and I was already brainstorming about how we could top that in 2016.

This year, my Team Boomer campaign is Seven before 7. I plan to complete seven races before Colin turns 7 at the end of May. Starting on New Year’s Day with the Freezer 5, a five mile road race in Sterling, MA, the schedule also includes 3 half-marathons, a sprint triathlon and a two other local road-races. This month’s race is the Old Fashioned 10 Miler in Foxboro, MA, and I am very excited to run the New York City Half Marathon with Team Boomer on March 20.

What is your biggest inspiration?
Colin is my biggest inspiration – his fight with CF gets me out of bed at 5 a.m. for training runs.

I am also inspired by the parents of children with cystic fibrosis. In addition to unconditional love, they are master schedulers – squeezing hours of daily treatments into already packed school/sports schedules as well as medical advocates and fierce supporters.

What is your best fundraising tip?
Personalize your story and message to engage your potential donors. Partner with others in both your network and community and plan a variety of events that appeal to a broad group of people.

Why do you run?
Growing up, I was a swimmer – and while I would run occasionally, I didn’t really enjoy it. It wasn’t until the spring of 2012 that I started to run regularly. I knew that running and cardio vascular exercise would be critical for my son and wanted to be a good role-model for both him and his sister. The more I ran, the more I needed to run. It has become an important time for me to balance stress and work through my thoughts and feelings regarding Colin’s CF diagnosis and the ups and downs that come with it.

In addition to running for Team Boomer I also enjoy participating in virtual events like those hosted by Rock CF and running as a member of OutRun38, a virtual running group based in Connecticut. Both groups were founded by amazingly inspiring women with cystic fibrosis. Along with Team Boomer, these organizations lead a fantastic community of runners and athletes who embody the very best aspects of health and wellness while raising awareness for cystic fibrosis and supporting those who fight for tomorrows every day.

Athlete Name: Mac Rung
Age: 15
Hometown: Austin, TX

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a freshman at Westlake High School in Austin, TX. I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at birth. I live a pretty normal life outside of doing therapy twice a day and taking lots of pills.

How did you learn about Team Boomer?
I learned about Team Boomer from my dad when he mentioned notable people with the disease. He told me Boomer Esiasons son Gunnar has cystic fibrosis. I’ve read his blog and about Team Boomer.

Tell us what motivates you the most.
Making the basketball team motivates me the most. I love the sport and I want to keep playing so I train and the exercise that I get from it keeps me healthy.

What is your favorite memory from Hoops 4 a Cure?
My favorite memory from Hoops 4 a Cure is raising $12,000 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation last year. It showed how successful we were and that we need to keep hosting the event. This year the 4th annual Hoops 4 a Cure will be May 13th at the Westlake Athletic Community Center. My goal is to raise $15,000 to help find a cure.

What are your favorite ways to train and exercise?
My favorite way to train and exercise is playing basketball. Whether it’s practice for school or tournament basketball or even training outside of a team I love getting exercise through the sport.

Who is your role model?
My trainer Jordan Kpaka is a role model of mine. I see how hard he works and where it’s taken him and it motivates me to do the same.

Athlete Name: Laurie Cobb
Age: 32
Hometown: Moscow, Pennsylvania
Education: Widener University (Philadelphia) undergrad, Wilmington University (Delaware) MBA
Occupation: Project Manager at JP Morgan

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m from the Poconos in Pennsylvania and am married to my husband Marc for 5 years this month. I love and played a number of different sports throughout high school and college (tennis, softball, basketball) but I never pursued or even thought about endurance sports until a good friend suggested it about a year ago. My husband and I live in Jersey City but we are gluttons for punishment and support our Philly sports teams. I also love dogs. One of my favorite running activities is to dog watch to help keep my mind busy.

How did you get involved with Team Boomer?
I got involved with Team Boomer after attending Refi Rock at the Central Park Zoo right after we moved here. A bunch of colleagues invited me to go and I thought it was so well run I had to send an e-mail stating this to the generic e-mail address on the BEF website asking what I could do to help and get involved. After learning more about Team Boomer and speaking with Michaela I ended up joining the Young Professionals Committee and from there I learned more about the Team Boomer athletic events.

What is your favorite Team Boomer memory?
My favorite Team Boomer memory so far was at my first half marathon, I was coming up to mile 13 and there were some people who had already finished waiting near the finish line cheering for me. It was an amazing moment.

What is your best fundraising tip?
Of course, everyone uses social media to fundraise, but I find my posts that get the most responses and likes are those when you include a funny or eye catching picture. My memes of Ryan Gosling tend to get a lot of donations. Get creative with it!

Why do you run?
Short answer – because I can and I should.

Three years ago I was moved from JP Morgan in Delaware to JP Morgan in New York. My husband I packed up our lives and moved to Hoboken and I started working in the city. I had been used to suburban life, park your car in the driveway and drive everywhere and not having to walk far for anything. I sporadically did fitness classes and had many unsuccessful attempts with Weight Watchers, but didn’t really pay a lot of attention to my weight. After a few weeks of living in Hoboken and generally moving more I noticed how truly out of shape I was. I was over 350lbs when I stepped on the scale at my doctor’s office. I started making small changes in my diet and working out a bit more, but nothing too serious. When I saw more weight starting to come off, I began pushing harder, making more changes to my diet and adding in more exercise. I found a workout that I loved (spinning) and met some really awesome people who encouraged me along the way and helped me try new and different workouts. Eventually, the weight kept coming off and my body kept changing. Anyone who has been through a serious body transformation can tell you it is very hard to describe and very emotional.

I wanted to try running, but I was too nervous about running outside or on my own because I figured I would look like a serious hot overweight mess trying to make it around the block. With encouragement from my husband and friends I started some light jogging on a treadmill in our gym. Then I attended a Young Professionals Committee meeting and had the pleasure of sitting next to Steve Bell. I believe he was training for the London marathon at the time (but I could be wrong – he does a lot of them 😉 and I just remember thinking “this guy is amazing” and he inspired me to keep pushing through my fears and to run outside. Every time I got scared about what I looked like, or embarrassed because I had to stop to walk or slow down, I kept thinking of those amazing CF’ers and I didn’t give up. A few months later I did my first 5k, then Tough Mudder, then a half marathon. I am doing the 2015 NYC marathon for Team Boomer and can’t wait to meet everyone from the team soon!

Athlete Name: Vincent Love
Age: 24
Hometown: Stamford, CT
Education: Boston College
Occupation: Investment Banker

Tell us a little about yourself.
I am from Stamford, Connecticut and have one sister Annie, who is going to be a senior in high school, and two loving parents, Lorraine and Vincent, who have supported me as my equipment managers and photographers at all my Team Boomer races. I have played a number of different sports including football, hockey, and lacrosse at KLHT (where I went to school from kindergarten through high school) and rugby at Boston College, but I was never a long distance, endurance athlete. After graduating Boston College in 2013, I got a job as an investment banker in downtown Boston and moved to an apartment in the North End with a friend from college. Despite living in Boston for the last few years, I am still a huge Mets, Jets, and Rangers fan.

How did you get involved with Team Boomer?
I met Gunnar at Boston College our freshman year and a group of fellow BC students became interested in Team Boomer shortly thereafter. After meeting Gunnar and learning more about cystic fibrosis, a number of us became involved with the foundation, attending events and fundraising for various races. Since then, we have been able to remain active with the foundation competing in events and organizing fundraisers.

What is your favorite Team Boomer memory?
Without a doubt my favorite Team Boomer memory is running the Boston marathon and specifically running through BC. Heartbreak hill is one of the hardest portions of the Boston marathon and comes directly before BC’s campus. A group of friends, including Gunnar, jumped on to the course and were able to run with me for quite a while, providing much needed support and encouragement. Without their help, it would have been a much harder final push to the finish line.

What is your best fundraising tip?
Don’t be afraid to reach out directly to people you have not seen or spoken to recently. I have found that some of the largest donations have come from people that I did not even think to reach out to directly, but were supportive of the cause after seeing posts on social media. Also holding events can be helpful in raising awareness for your cause, even small social gatherings which are relatively easy to organize can raise a lot of money and help get the word out.

Why do you run?
I run to stay active and use the time that I am training as a release from work, while helping a cause that I am passionate about. Gunnar is a close friend and living with him in college was a constant reminder of what he and so many others with cystic fibrosis have to overcome on a daily basis, which motivates me to this day. I run to support the foundation as well as Gunnar and his family who have provided me with the opportunity and the platform to help the fight against CF. Watching the entire Esiason family fight this disease with such dedication has inspired me to push myself in an effort to help them bring about real advancements to all affected by CF.

Age:53
Hometown: Congers, NY
Education: BBA, Stetson University, DeLand, FL
Occupation: Executive Director, Production Services – Quad Graphics, Inc

Tell us a little about yourself.
Live in Rockland County; Married with two grown children Love the outdoors; huge NY Giant fan; big Yankee fan.

What is your favorite Team Boomer memory?
Two of them: Dinner right before the 2011 Marathon and sharing training experiences, fund raising experiences and goals for the run. Nice to be with your peer group and understand why the people are running, for whom they are running and their tie to BEF. Second was the support from Team Boomer while running the race.

What is your best fundraising tip?
Personalize it; share why you’re running, for whom and the personal relationship. Share the strength of BEF and how it is helping; educate people on CF. People are mostly generous. Keep them involved in your training progress; I also ran a contest for all of those who donated – a $200 AmEx Gift Card drawing for all who participated. Seemed to go over well. I also reached out to some of the donators to share some of their favorite songs with me so I could include those songs on my Marathon Playlist. People seemed pretty engaged with that as well.

Why do you run?
I run to keep fit, try to stay young, keep my sanity, allows me to think uninterrupted. Uninterrupted “me time.” I run for Boomer because my best friend from college, Richard Weiss, had CF. I ran it for him and his brothers Arthur (passed away) and Anthony (also inflicted). The Weiss family is an amazing family and so supportive of CF and the aim for a cure. Sadly, Richard passed in January 2014.