On Monday, April 15, 2024, the 128th Boston Marathon is set to take place. This year also commemorates the 100th year since it started in Hopkinton, where the course was moved from its original location. The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, having been held for the first time on April 19, 1897. It is also one of the most prestigious and hardest marathons to gain entry to. The two methods of gaining entrance are through running a qualifying time (BQ) or being a charity runner.
The Boston Athletic Association has selected 160 organizations for the 2024 Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program. Among them is the Michael Lisnow Respite Center with its marathon team “Michael’s Miracle”.
Its co-founders Sharon Lisnow and Mary McQueeney this year also have been chosen to be starters for the fourth wave of the marathon.
The center was started in 1997 when Lisnow and McQueeney, both special education teachers who shared a vision for creating a place that would provide emotional and physical support for families with children with disabilities. The two first met when Lisnow’s son, Michael, who was born with brain damage, was 5 years old. McQueeney’s son Nick and Michael were connected through the school system.
Twenty-seven years later, the Respite Center has helped hundreds of families and continues to grow each year. Many see the house as Michael’s legacy, but according to Lisnow, “We believe that the true legacy of Michael is the love and care you find in our home. As each year passes, the sweetness of Michael’s memories grows, and the lessons he taught become clearer.”
McQueeney describes feeling “humbled and blessed” to be the Wave 4 starter and be able to look at their charity runners go by and give a blessing.
Robin Reissfelder Dahill, medical director of the daycare program, who has been with the respite center for 27 years and is one of the LPNs that works with the children, describes the impact the center has had by teaching young children through field trips, including the siblings of disabled kids, about disabilities and making it more acceptable. “Personally, she learned to view them as children and not their disabilities. That they deserve to be treated like any other child. It’s who they are, and everyone has something.”
The Respite Center, a BAA Charity for 26 years, is set to celebrate its 26th year at the Boston Marathon. Co-founders Lisnow and McQueeney have run the marathon together six times, raising funds equivalent to 186,000 hours of services for individuals with disabilities who would not be able to afford care otherwise. This year, 73 runners will participate in the Boston Marathon for Michael’s Miracle team, with most starting in wave 4 that will be kicked off by Lisnow and McQueeney. Four of the runners have also achieved qualifying times for the race.
Wendy Sousa, Assistant Director of the Respite Center and Co-Marathon director, describes marathon weekend as “one of my favorite parts of the Respite Center, because it allows us to spread the warmth and love to people outside of the Respite Center.”
This is evident by the number of repeat runners on the team. Among them, Robert Hinojosa and George Kantaris, who met at the Respite Center and became good running friends.
Hinojosa first ran with Michael’s Miracle in 2014, feeling inspired to run the marathon after the 2013 horrific Boston Marathon event. He wanted to run with a charity he could relate to. From Destin, Florida, he works with the Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation (DCWAF) that works in supporting children in need. Hinojosa recalls, “I could relate to the good the Respite Center does and the similar work of DCWAF.” Eleven years later, he continues to run yearly and has raised about $282,000 in the last 11 years. Hinojosa loves how “parents come up to you and thank you. Seeing the kids is emotional.” On Marathon Monday, Hinojosa plans to run with his friend Kantaris.
Kantaris joined the team in 2018 when he had a desire to run the most prestigious marathon. Ironically, he didn’t make the team at first, but later a spot opened up. Kantaris describes applying to Michael’s Miracle “with no rhyme or reason.” Upon coming marathon weekend, he was moved by seeing how “everyone is caring. The workers at the Respite Center want to get to know you and what you are about. The kind of people here makes you want to come back.” He also remarks how “friendships grow,” as with Hinojosa, where they ran other marathons, with the most recent being the Medellin Marathon in Colombia.
In 2021, recovering from the pandemic, Kantaris, a chef and restaurant owner in NYC, became the official Chef preparing the pre-marathon dinner for the team Sunday before the marathon. Kantaris has done it every year sharing, “I want to give back and help.”
Other repeat runners are part of the “Bring Your Own Bib Club” (BYOBC), such as Sam Felsenfeld. He is the father of an autistic son, Jack, and understands the needs of families. He first found the Respite Center in 2017 when he missed the Boston qualifying buffer time. He wanted to keep his Boston Marathon streak, and at that time, it would be his 10th. He read about the Respite Center “and the mission was dear and near to me because of my son.” Since then, Felsenfeld continues to BQ but will still join the team and fundraise for the Respite Center. This will be his 8th year running for the Respite Center. Felsenfeld stated the Respite Center “helps people like me and my son and is therefore easy to get behind this organization.” He admires how Lisnow “builds a legacy for her son. I can relate because I want to build a legacy for Jack.” Felsenfeld did just that with the 12 years he ran his foundation for his son, the “Operation Jack Autism Foundation.” Felsenfeld, who lives in West Chester, PA, reflects, “The Respite Center is a good organization, and it’s amazing to live in this area for this place,” commenting on how in his area, places like the Respite Center providing that level of support are lacking.
The Respite Center also inspires local residents to run for Michael’s Miracle. Among them, Hopkinton resident Aamir Benicaso. He states, “The Respite Center represents a cause that is near and dear,” having a younger brother who is autistic. Benicaso, who first started running in 2020 during the COVID pandemic, made a personal vow to run the Boston Marathon for an organization “that supports all disabilities of all ages.” He himself, having studied psychology and sociology, works with disabled individuals. “It’s my passion.”
Benicaso describes how the town of Hopkinton “goes above and beyond to help disabled individuals through grade school to age 22.”
More special this year, his mother, Imrana Benicaso, painted “Wait and See,” which was dedicated to him for his “unconditional love and support of his brother to move him forward.” The painting was chosen by the Hopkinton Center for the Arts to be exhibited as part of the “Stride for Stride: Celebrating the Boston Marathon, the essence of art and stories celebrating the quiet heroes of the Boston Marathon in celebration of the 100th time the marathon has started in Hopkinton.
Another repeat and local runner for the Respite Center is Kelly Wallace Ianelli. This will be her 4th Boston Marathon with the Respite Center. She has run it in 2008, 2010, and 2012. Her children, who attended Elmwood Elementary, would do field trips to the Respite Center to learn about disabilities. Ianelli also describes how two close family friends had daughters who went to the Respite Center. She was able to see firsthand “what a game-changer it’s been for these families. The Respite Center, with open arms, is willing to help families with kids of all disabilities. It’s a miracle how the center takes the children and allows them to excel.” Therefore, making it “easy to raise money because everyone loves the Respite Center.”
The Respite even has a long reach attracting runners from out of state, such as Viktoriya Lushkova from Jacksonville, Florida.
Originally from Ukraine and a former professional tennis player, Lushkova will be running on this year’s Michael Miracle team. She describes how the Respite Center “resonated from personal experience.” Her younger sister, Yeva, has level five cerebral palsy. Seeing her sister “going through life with disabilities and knowing what the Respite Center does is very inspiring.” Lushkova will be honoring her sister on Monday’s run. She states, “Nothing is impossible with kindness. We can accomplish a lot and would encourage people to run with charity.”
Also from out of state is Nancy Sweat from Canton, Georgia, who deeply understands the unexpected hardships that occur when a loved one suddenly becomes disabled. Her husband, Kent, suffered from seizures and sustained brain trauma after failing while having a seizure. This essentially forced her to take care of her husband while raising her daughter as a single mother. She picked up running for her “mental health and to deal with the anxiety and stress of taking care of Kent.” She ended up running a marathon in all 50 states, and this Marathon Monday will mark her 51st marathon. She unexpectedly lost her husband this past January, marking Monday’s marathon as a way to “honor Kent.” She has raised over $15,000 for the Respite Center, which qualifies her for a tile on the “hall of fame” wall at the Respite Center. Any runner that raises $15,000 or runs 5 years with the Respite Center qualifies for this honor. Sweat describes this honor “as a nice memory, there is a little piece of me and that I got to make a difference.”
Many employees also run for the Respite Center, among them Julie Atherton. She has been a part-time employee for the last 6 years. She was first introduced to the Respite Center when Sousa called her, asking to have one of their clients work for her family owned business, Milford Hardwood Floors. They have had the client work for them for the last 8 years. Seeing the work, the Respite Center does is what made Atherton want to work part-time for the center. Additionally, her family has a close relationship with a neighbor who has autism. She describes how the neighbor has “been part of her family.” She understands “special-needs adults need the assistance as well as their families.”
Atherton has managed to raise $41,000 this year for the Respite Center. On Marathon Monday, “I will be thinking of my clients and things they can’t do and I can. So, I will run with my heart. It is for them.” She is dedicating the marathon specifically to two of her clients, Karen and Mike.
Coming back for her second year is Haley Fitch Barraza, who is married to Ricardo Barraza, Program Manager, and Event Coordinator for the Respite Center. Fitch Barraza, at age 19 in 2006, through a connection of being friends with McQueeney’s son Nick, got in touch with the Respite Center to work in the summer.
It is there she met Barraza, who had started working at the Respite Center also at age 19. His initial responsibilities were part of the direct care and helping to coordinate sports, arts, and music activities. Barraza describes working at the Respite Center as “rewarding to be in an environment working with kids and adults with disabilities. I felt a purpose.” Eventually, Fitch-Barraza and Barraza married in 2015 and they had a second ceremony as a “Respite Center wedding” since they officially had their wedding in New Hampshire. They describe it more as a “social gathering” that allowed the staff and clients to come celebrate their marriage. They are now the proud parents of 3 children, Miguel 7, Emilio 6, and Camila 4.
Last year, dealing with the grief of losing her mother, Catherine, Fitch Barraza ran the marathon. Her mother was a big supporter of the Respite Center, and for Fitch Barraza, it was a way to honor her mother, stating “I have one life to do all the things I want to try and do.” She recalls crying the whole 26.2 miles, feeling she “was making her mom proud.” She also raised over $15,000 dollars, earning her a tile on the Respite “Hall of Fame” wall.
Barraza describes the emotions he felt seeing his wife train and run the marathon. Despite being the coordinator for 22 years, it was the first time a close loved one ran for the team. “Until I saw Haley training, I realized the sacrifices one has to make to cross the finish line.” He also describes “having my wife run was special, and I was beaming with love and pride.”
Fitch Barraza will be running again this year. She looks forward to seeing her family and the Respite Center families along the course. She wants to say “thank you to all the families of the Respite Center that let us be part of their family.” Fitch Barraza describes the Respite Center as “the thread that grounds and connects everyone.” Her husband Barraza echoes that sentiment “I feel very blessed to have what I have. The Respite Center is the thread that brought everyone together. I feel very fortunate to have the Respite Center, my family, and health.”
Dr. Maria Bendeck is a board-certified internal medicine physician, freelance writer, world traveler, avid marathon runner, and community builder. She believes in embracing life to the fullest by exploring new places, helping others, and empowering people through writing.
