 | | | Allie and Matt Curran Photo provided | | | | | | In his early 20s, Matt Curran set a goal to one day complete six marathons. Now, in his late 40s, the Moraga resident is about to reach that goal and run his final marathon on April 18. Curran is running the Boston Marathon as a member of Team Joslin in support of Joslin Diabetes Center, a world-renowned diabetes research and treatment facility in Boston, Mass., which holds a special place in his family's hearts.
Curran's 12-year-old daughter Allie has type 1 diabetes (T1D) and was diagnosed when she was just 3 and a half years old after her preschool teachers noticed her symptoms. Curran and his wife, Sarah, were not familiar with diabetes at all. It wasn't until they looked deeper into their family history that they discovered Sarah's great uncle had passed away from T1D at a very young age.
The Curran family was familiar with Joslin's work and are friends with a runner who has run with Joslin in the past. Curran has also done work with other diabetes organizations. He sits on the board for Diabetes Youth Families, which provides educational and recreational programs for people in the Type 1 community.
Despite growing up in Vermont, with parents raised in Framingham, Mass., Curran has always had a connection to Boston and loved watching the Marathon. He wanted to run it himself one day and decided that there was no better time than now. His sister Kelly passed away last year and she would always encourage him to run it. "I thought, why wait?" Curran said.
Curran has been enjoying the fundraising aspect and thinks of it as a nice motivator to get up every day and continue his training. In running this marathon, there are a few goals that Curran hopes to accomplish: He wants to better understand Joslin and the work they do in hopes of deepening his connection to them; he'd like to dive deeper into the research side of T1D and see what they're doing to work toward a cure; and he is also hoping the experience will bring his family closer together. Curran has extended family in Massachusetts and throughout the Northeast that will be?cheering him on. "I'm really looking forward to getting together with them before the marathon so we can all share stories," Curran said.?
Living with and managing Type 1 Diabetes is not easy, but the Curran family hopes to continue to educate people about it. "We are very grateful for Joslin's support and know their efforts have helped Allie have the freedom and independence that was not available to others decades ago," Curran said.
For more information or to support Curran and Team Joslin, visit the link below: https://www.givengain.com/ap/matt-curran-raising-funds-for-joslin-diabetes-center/
For more information about Joslin Diabetes Center, visit www.joslin.org |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA