2 Philadelphia medical students running in New York City Marathon for a good cause
Two medical students from Philadelphia will be among the thousands of runners in New York City for the marathon this weekend. The medical students will be running to help a foundation that supports children with brain tumors and raises money for research.
The two met four years ago at Sidney Kimmel Medical College and quickly learned they shared a passion for medicine and running.
Stephen Jennings and Samantha Mauser run together to cope with the stress of being medical students. Now they're running for a cause, to support the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation. They're helping the foundation raise money through sponsorships for the New York City Marathon which they'll be running Sunday.
"It's a lot of fun like right before it starts and then right after it's done," Jennings said, "but at least for me, it's a pretty big struggle."
The marathon is 26.2 miles from Staten Island into Manhattan. They'll be running with 50,000 people.
"I'd be thrilled to run a good time but it's not my priority this time," Mauser said. "I felt like I wanted to run for this foundation to support pediatrics in general and start to think about how I want to advocate for patients."
Every day at the hospital, Mauser and Jennings see the struggles patients and their families go through. They say empathy helps them battle through the marathon miles.
"When we're cramping up at mile 18, it's like, 'OK, we can do this if they can do that,'" Jennings said.
While they're both committed runners, Mauser has the edge. She has run a marathon in just over three hours, while Jennings' best times have been between four and five and a half hours.
Mauser will likely finish before Jennings, but this marathon isn't about times -- it's about running for kids who can't.
Jennings and Mauser have both raised more than $3,000 for the Children's Brain Tumor Foundation.