What This Marathon Means to Me…
On Monday, April 18th, our own Lauren Palumbo will line up as one of the 30,000 runners in the 120th Boston Marathon.
Dear Friends of Lovin’ Spoonfuls,
With only days to go before we toe the starting line in Hopkinton, my mind is on the race pretty much every hour of the day! During one of the 20+ mile training runs we completed on the course, I thought about just how much these 26.2 miles matter to me. These aren’t just any 26.2 miles, this is the route from Hopkinton to Boston. And that route couldn’t be a better symbol for where Lovin’ Spoonfuls has been, and is where it’s going.
The course starts out in Hopkinton, but quickly transitions to Ashland and on into Framingham. Right around the 10K mark, we will pass SMOC, or the Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council. We park our newest truck at SMOC, and it’s the home base of our new MetroWest route that we just launched this month. Framingham is home to many of the new agencies we are serving with this route, including a number of transitional shelters, each home to a handful of homeless families trying to get back on their feet.
At the 15K mark, we’re in Natick, and right down the street from the Natick Service Council and A Place to Turn, two more agencies we’re serving in the MetroWest, both running really impressive food pantries that we’re thrilled to be stocking with fresh, healthy food.
In Wellesley, just past the half-way point, we’ll pass by the Whole Foods Market, one of the largest vendors we work with, and the Wellesley Food Pantry, both wonderful partners of LS!
In Newton, right around the 30K mark, we’ll pass the roads that lead to the Newton Food Pantry and the Centre Street Food Pantry, agencies we’ve been serving on our Greater Boston routes for 1 and 2 years, respectively.
And as we head up Heartbreak Hill, we’ll approach Boston College, where we work with the students to rescue excess food that is prepared but not served from their dining halls. These ready-to-eat meals are a great tool for our partner beneficiaries that have limited resources.
As we head through Brookline, we’ll pass by Trader Joe’s in Coolidge Corner, the 1st vendor Ashley ever collected from in 2010. We’ll also be near the Brookline Senior Center, and the Brookline Food Pantry – two agencies we have been serving heavily for years.
From Brookline, we’ll head into Kenmore Square, where we’ll run right by our current office at 418 Comm Ave – the office we’re preparing to move out of in the coming weeks. Our new office in Brighton marks a significant milestone for LS, moving our offices and trucks to the same location for the 1st time in 6 years!
From there, it’s just a short distance to the finish line, where I look forward to celebrating with my husband, my family, and the incredible team at ‘Spoonfuls. This amazing support group helped me get through the challenges two years ago when I stopped running as a result of undiagnosed Addison’s Disease, and they supported me as I worked my way back to running half marathons, and now a full marathon.
These 26.2 miles represent so much of how far Lovin’ Spoonfuls has come, and how far I have come, and it’s going to be an amazing experience to take it all in. Please consider supporting my run by making a donation here. In doing so, you’ll give me one more boost for race day, and you’ll be supporting the incredible work we’re doing at ‘Spoonfuls, and the work still to come.
Thank you so much for your support!
With gratitude,
Lauren