Westchester Woman to Run 7 Marathons in 7 Days for Charity

Editor’s Note: Patch is re-running this popular story in case you missed it the first time around.

Mamaroneck resident Karen Murray, a 48-year-old mother of three, will take on a grueling challenge starting June 1: run seven marathons in seven days in seven states.

Though Murray is an avid runner, she’s attempting the 183.4-mile feat for the running movement “Run 4 Brad” to raise funds for the organization, which was founded in 2013 in Larchmont. Resident Jessica Berman founded the group after her 37-year-old husband Brad suffered a hemorrhagic stroke in August of that year while he was preparing to train to run his fourth marathon.

Brad’s brain injury resulted from a congenital AVM (arteriovenous malformation) which ruptured that morning but had otherwise been asymptomatic his entire life. After four months in the hospital and intensive rehabilitation at Burke Rehabilitation Center, Brad continues his recovery with the support of his wife and two young sons.

So far, Run 4 Brad has raised more than $600,000 to fund a lower limb robotics program at the Burke Medical Research Institute in White Plains.

“My mantra is what the mind believes, the body achieves and I am honored to run for Brad and help him and others reach 100 percent recovery,“ said Murray in a statement. Her marathon challenge is called the Heartland Series and takes place in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

For information about supporting Murray’s efforts, visit https://www.crowdrise.com/7days7marathons4brad/fundraiser/karenmurray. For more information about Burke’s robotic assisted therapy programs, visit http://www.burke.org/research.

Photo: Karen Murray. Photo credit: Contributed