Samira Malik says Monday’s first 10 miles will be tense. She tends to relax near the halfway point of a race, but admits that can be difficult with Heartbreak Hill looming near the end of her Boston Marathon debut.
‘I don’t think I’m ready for a marathon,’ admits Malik, Executive Director of Northeastern Donor Strategies and Special Initiatives. “Training for that distance is different. I didn’t have a good training plan. I’m a little nervous because I don’t think this will be my best race.”
She agreed to participate in the 26.2-mile race as a means of funding. John D. O’Brien African American Institute in Tohoku. Among its many missions, the Institute offers scholarships, mentoring and leadership programs, and all kinds of support that deepens a sense of community among Black students.
“When the opportunity arose to raise money for the lab, I couldn’t say no,” she says.
At least 11 members of the Northeastern community will run the 126th Annual Boston Marathon to raise funds for various causes. This event brings huge benefits to charities.At the latest Boston Marathon, last October $26.6 million was raised by 2,106 runners representing over 200 non-profit organizations.
Inspired by Malik’s efforts, the African American Institute hosted a lunchtime rally on Thursday to honor runners in the Northeast.
“It’s a personal commitment. You have to be really committed. Doing it for a cause just reinforces it,” said the Institute’s director, Richard O’Bryant, of the Runners. (This institute is named after the former vice president of student affairs at Northeastern University, who in 1977 became the first black man elected to Boston’s school board.) (Named after his father.)
Every marathoner is driven by personal goals and needs. Malik happens to be a late bloomer. Although she did not compete in track events in high school, she was always drawn to running.
“In 2013, I was going through a divorce and trying to get out of the whirlwind of life that was going on, so I started working out,” says Malik, who was working in Alexandria, Virginia at the time.
A friend suggested that I participate in a 5km race.When it worked, they reggae half marathon in Jamaica.
“I’m naive. I think I can get out there and do it,” Malik says. But mentally I pushed myself in that race.
“Running gave me a belief in myself that I didn’t have until that moment,” she says. “It’s been running ever since.”
A habit of running 5 miles a day first thing in the morning, Malik is halfway to his long-term goal of running a full or half marathon in all 50 states. She has completed her four marathons due to her self-described “love-hate relationship with running.” In Chicago she twice, in New York and Dallas she once each.
“I think Boston will be my last full marathon,” she says. “I love to run, but I’m going to stick to the half marathon. The pavement is getting worse to my knees, but I don’t want to stop running. I know 26 miles is physically tearing me apart.” I know
Her candidacy on behalf of the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute is tied to its many missions, including supporting students. Malik recalls that she had to take a year off from college because she couldn’t pay her tuition.
Malik, who graduated with a BS in Psychology from the University of Maryland (and a Masters in Data Analytics in 2018), said: “I probably missed some opportunities because I was treading water financially just to get there. I know something.”
As she approaches Heartbreak Hill on her way to Boston, she believes a higher call to raise money for the Institute will inspire her.
“What a great race to end my journey,” she says of her final marathon. “I’m kind of insecure. But I’m going to get out there and do my best.”
The following runners are known to be racing for charity at the Boston Marathon on Monday (with link to fundraising page).
- Kylie Bemis, Assistant Professor of Computer Science: Candidate native women running team It’s a fundraiser for Wings of America.
- Caitlin Corbett, Psychology Graduate Student: Massachusetts General Hospital Candidate Cystic Fibrosis Center;
- Elizabeth Maddock Dillon Distinguished Professor of English and Co-Director of NULab for Texts, Maps, and Networks: running Joslyn Diabetes Center;
- James Gorske, Lecturer, College of Professional Studies: Candidate Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;
- Juliet Hoinki, Physical Therapy Student: Running for Election Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital;
- Samira Malik, Executive Director, Donor Strategy and Special Initiatives: Candidate John D. O’Brien African American Institute;
- Kayla McCann, Nursing Student: Candidacy Canty’s Underdog Scholarship Fund;
- Elizabeth Nersinger, distance learning program specialist at the D’Amore-McKim School of Business: collins joy project;
- Robbie Newman, Health Sciences and Business Administration Student: Candidacy trout eyes and ears;
- Victor Silva, Health Science Student: Candidacy trout eyes and ears;
- Hailey Werenski, Business and Mathematics Student: Candidacy Massachusetts General Hospital.
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