Thursday, April 19, 2007

Marathoning dad raises $8,000 for children's hospital


By Pete Colaizzo
Poughkeepsie Journal
 

Kieran Lalor admits it: Looking around, he felt a bit out of place Monday at the starting line of the Boston Marathon. A proud Marine, he wears his 230 pounds well. "I'm in pretty good shape for a big, burly guy,'' he said. "But this body wasn't designed to be a marathoner.''

Yet there he was along with more than 20,000 other runners, lined up and ready to traverse the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston. He was there for the personal challenge, to be sure. But he was also there for a very personal reason that had little to do with a running footrace.

Running to raise money for Children's Hospital Boston, Lalor raised more than $8,000 for his race, which he completed in 5 hours, 12 minutes, 36 seconds. The Children's Hospital holds a special place for Lalor, whose daughter Katherine was born last August with a congenital heart defect called Hypo-Plastic Left Heart Syndrome.

Little Katherine has had two open heart surgeries - the first one the week after she was born -to correct the problem. The Lalors actually moved to Boston temporarily around the time of Katherine's birth so that she could be close to the care she needed at the hospital.

"Children's Hospital Boston has been wonderful for her and for our family,'' Kieran Lalor said. "It is not an exaggeration to say they saved her life. There are not too many ways to say thanks. This was the one opportunity.''

Lalor, a 1994 John Jay High School graduate who now lives in Peekskill, signed up as part of the hospital's Miles For Miracles Team. He committed to fundraising a minimum of $3,500. He was able to double that goal through generous donations from family and friends.

Marathon experience

Of course, there was also the business of training for and completing the marathon. Although he does not have the lithe marathoner's frame, Lalor was not without long-distance running experience. After completing his Marine Corps boot camp, he entered in and finished the Marine Corps Marathon in just over 4 hours.

"I swore then that I wouldn't do another marathon,'' he said. "I guess you never say never.''

Lalor said his daughter, now 9 months old, is thriving. She made it through both surgeries, which had inherent risks, with no problems. She is scheduled for another surgery in two years.

Katherine's condition was diagnosed before she was born. Lalor and his wife, Mary Jo, did their research and decided the Boston hospital was the best place for them to be to treat their child's pediatric cardiology issues.

"We moved there to Boston for the summer,'' he recalled. "As a Yankee fan, that was not an easy thing to do.''

And there he was again on Monday, in the shadow of the reviled Fenway Park, completing a road race filled with great meaning to him.

"Marathons bring out the best in everybody,'' he said. "Everybody was unbelievable out there.''