South Boston Woman Raises $25K For St. Jude Boston Marathon Team

BOSTON, MA - For South Boston resident Stephanie Perret, running the Boston Marathon and raising money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital go hand in hand.

Although it is Perret's second time running the Boston Marathon for the Memphis organization, her ties go way back.

"I run for St. Jude because my mom is from Memphis and my family has always supported St. Jude," she said. "My cousin had brain cancer and was treated by doctors from St. Jude in the early 1980s."

Perret, who lives in South Boston with husband Chris and sons Cameron, 3 and Cole, 1, grew up in Ellicott City Maryland and moved to Boston for college in 2001. She now works for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as an attorney at the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

In the last two years, Perret and her husband have raised over $70,000 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

This week, Boston Patch spoke with Perret about running the Boston Marathon, raising money for St. Jude and how she trained for the race.

Why did you want to run the Boston Marathon?

I'm running the Boston Marathon because I have always loved Patriots Day in Boston. I was at the finish line in 2013 when the bombs went off. I decided to run as a way to make new memories and take back a day that was so fun for me prior to 2013.

How did you train for this race?

I started training back in June for the BAA half marathon in October. Once I did that, I rolled my training into the marathon and really ramped it up in January when the team started training together. We are lucky to have an amazing coach, Stephen Allison, who gives us a great schedule and runs with us on Saturday mornings. On a good week, I run 3-4 days a week and try to go to yoga twice a week.

What advice would you give to first time runners?

My first year, other runners consistently reminded me that I would finish. No matter what I would finish. So throughout the race I kept telling myself I would finish. I also tried to enjoy the crowds and really look around when I got to Boylston St. Boylston Street is such a surreal experience - be sure to write your name on your shirt so that the crowds can scream your name!

How did you spend the night before the race?

Tonight I'll be having spaghetti and meatballs using my great uncle's recipe. I'll try to go to bed around 9 - but it's hard to sleep the night before the race. I'll also try to lay out all of my clothes and layers and pack my gear bag with dry clothes for post race.

Twenty-six miles is a long way to run. What do you think of on long runs?

On long runs I tend to think about why I'm running for St. Jude. I think about the patient families I have met on my visits to Memphis and how grateful I am that my kids are healthy. I try to remind myself that kids at St. Jude would love to be out running and they are fighting for their lives. I'll think about my own kids and how to be a good example and show them that we can do hard things if we stick with it.

Courtesy Photo / ALSAC - Jenn Hamilton