Boston Marathon 2013 Profile: Julia Byers

Name: Julia Byers

Age: 25

Marathon Experience: This will be my first ever marathon, so I'll be checking one off the 'ol bucket-list and also supporting an amazing cause that is close to my heart: the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center (BMC) where I intern as a clinician. The Child Witness to Violence Project (CWVP) is an incredible service that provides essential, life-changing therapy for free, to families affected by violence. We work with kids who have witnessed severe violence in their home, neighborhood, or community, and as clinicians our role is to help these families regain a sense of safety and security that we often take for granted.

Reason For Running: The kids I work with are incredible: a four-year-old boy I see weekly carries a plastic superman in his pocket to protect his mom and sisters from "Monster Man." A ten-year-old girl who witnessed the death of her father spelled out "Courage" when we played a word game together. A set of sisters encouraged each other to play with a wooden dollhouse in my office and reminded each other that, "This is a safe place. We can play here."

http://www.crowdrise.com/teambmc2013/fundraiser/juliabyers

Training Tip: As this is my first marathon, my only tip is to... well.... just start running!