Brooke Stanford is running the 2025 Boston Marathon in memory of her late mother, Andrea. She is taking action in her mom’s honor, raising awareness and support in the fight against pancreatic cancer.
Running the world’s oldest annual marathon is a touching tribute to her mom, as well as a heartfelt farewell to the city she has called home for the past four years – a city where she found healing.
Catching the Running Bug
Brooke’s relationship with running has evolved from passive to passionate. Growing up, she played soccer, and running naturally came with it. In high school, she was a short-distance runner on the track team, never running more than two miles at a time.
It wasn’t until her college friends persuaded her to get back into running that her perspective shifted. “At the start of my junior year, a couple of my friends decided to run the Cambridge Half Marathon – it’s a big event here. I thought, ‘There’s no way I can run thirteen miles,’” says Brooke.
But her friends’ persistence eventually wore her down. “After a week or two of their convincing, I finally said, ‘Okay, okay, maybe I’ll try one mile,” she recalls.
Brooke surprised herself. “I ran a mile, and it felt okay. I did that for a couple of days, and before I knew it, I was officially training for the half marathon.”
She loved race day. “It wasn’t my fastest race, but it was so much fun. I ran with a smile, surrounded by all my friends. I loved it. After completing that, I decided running is something that I really love,” Brooke shares. “I totally caught the running bug.”
A Meant to Be Marathon
Brooke’s inspiration to run the Boston Marathon came from watching a close friend run it. Though she wasn’t ready to take on a marathon at the time, she considered it a goal for the future. Her research brought her to Project Purple.
“I was scrolling through all of the Boston Marathon charity partners and stumbled upon Project Purple. I was reading through the mission statement, and it felt like it was meant to be. I thought it was a sign that I needed to run the Boston Marathon,” says Brooke.
As soon as the Project Purple 2025 Boston Marathon application opened, Brooke applied.
“This means everything to me. Since my mom passed away, I’ve been looking for something to do to feel connected to her and to make a difference,” Brooke reflects.
Andrea’s Battle with Pancreatic Cancer
In January 2020, just before the pandemic, Brooke’s mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She had been experiencing persistent stomach pain. The possibility of pancreatic cancer was in the back of Andrea’s mind as she had lost her brother to the disease eight years earlier.
Andrea underwent Whipple surgery and eight rounds of chemotherapy. The surgery was intense, but Brooke remembers how her mom’s incredible strength helped her recovery. “She was supposed to stay in the hospital for a week or two after surgery, but she came back after two days and was walking around,” says Brooke.
The pandemic’s timing, though challenging, had a silver lining. “It was a blessing and a curse because my entire family was home. We were with her every single day. We got to support her through all of it,” she says.
For a while, they celebrated Andrea’s recovery. “We talked about cancer in the past tense. She had beaten it,” says Brooke.
But at the beginning of 2021, her mom began experiencing pain again, and a doctor’s visit confirmed the family’s worst fear: the cancer had returned, and it had spread to her liver. Despite chemotherapy, radiation, and a new medical trial, the cancer wasn’t responding to treatment. Andrea passed away at home on August 13, 2021.
Brooke’s Best Friend
“My mom was the best,” Brooke says fondly. “I thought of her less as a mom and more as a best friend.”
Brooke knew she could go to her mom when she needed advice. “I leaned on her for advice on literally everything. She was the wisest woman. I felt like anything I needed, she always knew the answer somehow,” she says.
Andrea was always a positive presence. “She was so much fun. She had the best energy. She could talk to anyone for any period of time. Just so bubbly and fun to be around,” Brooke adds.
Brooke attributes her creativity to her mom, who was an interior designer: “My mom had the best eye, the best style.”
She also credits her mom for her determination. “She was a doer. Anything she set her mind to, she accomplished. I’ve inherited that. When I make my mind up about something, I will achieve it, and that has carried me,” says Brooke. She is channeling that determination as she prepares for April 21.
Finding Healing in Running and Fundraising
Running and fundraising have helped Brooke’s healing. She started her first year of college just a week after her mom passed away, making the transition to college even more challenging.
Now, at twenty-one, Brooke finds that running gives her space to process her grief. “When I would feel all this anxiety and sadness, running was the one thing I could do that made that a little bit quieter. It allowed me to process the things I was feeling,” she says.
Running has also connected her with her mom. “I find myself thinking about her all the time when I’m running. Every time it feels hard and I don’t want to get up and go for a run, or I’m on a run and I don’t want to finish, she gets me through,” says Brooke.
Fundraising has helped her open up about her mom. “I feel like I’m keeping her memory alive because I find myself talking about my mom all the time now,” she says. “I’m talking about her again and remembering all these stories about her, and putting my fundraising page together and looking for old photos to put on it. It was nice to see her face again.”
Although the pain of loss is still there, Brooke finds comfort in the community that her fundraising has built. Through her Project Purple Boston Marathon teammates, close family, friends, and even strangers, “I’ve seen all the good things in the world,” Brooke says.
Why Boston?
Brooke’s love for Boston is clear. “I’ve fallen in love with the city,” she says. “I’ve been here for four years, and running the marathon is kind of like my goodbye to Boston. All of my best friends who are at school with me here get to watch me. It’s like a really nice capstone.”
She is looking forward to the moment she crosses the finish line. “I think I’ll be slightly delirious, but I will be filled with so much joy. I can imagine that in that moment, crossing the finish line, that will be the closest I’ve ever felt to my mom since I lost her,” she reflects.
Brooke’s Advice
As Brooke prepares for April 21, she thinks of her initial hesitation to start running – but she is now training for one of the most famous marathons. Her advice to others experiencing that same reluctance: “No matter if you’re a runner or not, if you run one mile or fifty, I couldn’t recommend it more. This is the greatest experience, and I haven’t even done it yet.”
To support Brooke and her fundraising goals, click here to donate to her page.
If you’d like to run or participate in an event of your own for Project Purple, visit our events page.
