An interview with Daniel Alperin: Boston, Sydney & the Chicago Marathons
Biography
I am 61 years old and live in Newton, Mass with my wife Becky. We have three daughters who are Jessie (30) who lives in Chicago and is getting two PHD’s in Social Thought and Art History, Emily (28) who lives in Boston and is a nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital on the Oncology floor and Avery (23) who is also working at Boston Children’s Hospital as a clinical research assistant working on Celiac Disease while she studies for the MCAT and applies to medical school. I have been in the radio advertising business for the last 30 years specifically in the Sports Radio field as a Sales Manager and Salesperson. At age 50 with know running background decided to start running Marathons. I used to weigh over 200lbs and over the year lost the weight and live a much healthier lifestyle. Since 2015 I have run 17 Marathons.
Can you tell me more about your Advocacy?
Over the last 10 years I have raised money for a number of charities around my marathon running, It started back in 2015 when one of our clients offered me a bib for the Boston Marathon. My daughter Emily was at boarding school in New Hampshire, and she always knew that she wanted to be a nurse. So one of her projects was to help a local kid who had cancer. So we created a Go Fund Me Page and raised over 8k for his medical care. I also had him and his family to a Celtics game where he was invited on to the court to meet the players. This got me started and then I got involved with The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, which is a camp for very sick kids. I also started running for Boston Children’s Hospital because my kid all have various medical conditions. In October of 2024, I was diagnosed three days before I was going to run the Chicago Marathon. This race was going to be last marathon in my 50’s because my birthday is 10/14. It did not go as plan at mile 11 I fell and then got up but my head was pounding so I decided to stop at a medical tent. I started having tremors and the Dr on the course said I should not go back. At the time I did not know much about Parkinson’s and I thought that was going to be my last marathon. A few weeks later I met with my Dr and he encouraged me to continue running. So with the help from the Michael J Fox and The Parkinson’s Foundation I was able to talk with other runners who have the disease. One of those runners told me that I could apply to run the Boston Marathon as an adaptive runner. So after my bad experience in Chicago, I ran the Tokyo Marathon and got my 6th Star and then five weeks later ran Boston and this past November ran New York and raised over 15k for the Michael J Fox Foundation.
What is your passion and how did you get involved in Parkinson’s awareness and hope for a cure?
As you can see my passion is running and back in October the Parkinson’s Foundation reached out to me to see if I would be interested in being the face of their endurance program. So exactly a year from my diagnosis the Parkinson’s Foundation had a video team at my house and then on the course shooting video for a social media campaign they will be doing next year. I hope that I can inspire people that just because you have Parkinson’s that it doesn’t mean you have to give up something you love. I will be running Boston and then Sydney for the Parkinson’s Foundation and raise money and awareness so that someday there will be a cure.
What type of goals does individuals with Parkinson’s have when working with you?
I have spoken to a lot of people who have Parkinson’s and what I tell them is that they don’t have to go out and run a marathon, but they need to move, walk, box and that movement is the best thing to slow the progression of the disease.
What effect can your Advocacy have on an individual with Parkinson’s?
I hope that my running journey can inspire others to move.
What would you like to see as a future goal for your Advocacy?
I would love to see more and more people with Parkinson’s running, 5k 10k half marathons and full marathons and be able to feel the accomplishment of crossing the finish line even with a movement disorder.
What events do you participate in?
Marathons, Boston, Sydney, Chicago
Half Marathons and 10k and 5k
How does this also assist the caregivers?
I think that caregivers should be supportive of the person who has Parkinson’s and encourage them to continue to be active in any activity that requires movement
How can someone get in touch? What is your website?
Instagram danrunningwithparkinsons
How can others also become advocates for awareness?
If the person has Parkinson’s tell people what they are doing to stay active. Educate them about the disease. Explain that 99 percent of the symptoms are things you don’t see.
In your opinion what is the key to effective advocacy?
Being passionate
How can we better fundraise to support a cure for Parkinson’s?
Support people like me who are out there running and raising money for a cure,
What other activities do you undertake to help improve and support your daily living Eg exercise and alternative remedies?
Running, Peloton Bike, Walking,
Why should people who don’t have Parkinson’s care about this?
People should care because Parkinson’s is the fastest growing neurological disease in the world and at some point, they will have a spouse, a friend, or family member or themselves get the disease.
Have you had any family members or relatives affected by Parkinson’s disease?
Me and my Grandfather had it …
If you had one final statement or quote you could leave for the Parkinson’s community,
what would it be?
Get out and move…
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TogetherForSharon® In memory of my mother, Sharon to voice awareness & hope for a Parkinson’s Disease cure. Sharon’s Son, George