Inspirational Final Finisher at Boston Marathon
BOSTON (CBS) – Cancer couldn't stop Mary Shertenlieb and neither could a lot of rain, wind and cold weather.
Shertenlieb, the wife of Rich from the Toucher & Rich Show on 98.5 The Sports Hub, crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon early Tuesday morning, completing an emotional end to a very long journey.
Five years ago Mary Shertenlieb received a devastating diagnosis of leukemia. She beat it, even after two relapses and a stem cell transplant.
She decided to run the 2018 Boston Marathon to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
And she despite one of the worst weather days in marathon history, Mary ran the first 15.5 miles in the heavy wind and torrential rain.
"At that point, her body began to shiver uncontrollably, her lips turned purple, and because of her compromised immune system, her doctors instructed her to stop running in the rain should this happen," her husband Rich wrote on Twitter.
So Mary stopped at 4 p.m. in Wellesley. But she wasn't done.
When the rain ended, she switched to some dry clothes and finished the race with Rich.
"This race is so important to me, it's so important to this city. It's where I had my boys. This race is like something I've always dreamed of doing and I'm so thankful to everybody that donated money to Dana-Farber because that place saved my life," she told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche.
Mary raised more than $33,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
If you'd like to contribute to Mary's run, please visit rundfmc.org.