Running towards a good cause

For his 50th birthday, in 1998, Hewlett resident Steven Greenberg’s wife, Louise, asked him what he wanted for a present.

“I’m blessed; I’m healthy and have a wonderful family and didn’t want anything materialistic,” the now 66-year-old said.

Instead, he thought of a way he could again qualify for the Boston Marathon. Greenberg had run in five Patriot Day races between 1977 and 1985, but hadn’t participated in one as his required times for qualifying had decreased.

But he remembered seeing a man wearing a Dana Farber Cancer Institute shirt running in a previous Boston Marathon. If a participant makes a donation they are given a number for the marathon and can run as part of the Dana Farber team.

Louise, who was familiar with the Boston-based organization, contacted the cancer institute and made a donation in her husband’s name. “It’s a very special cause for me because my parents passed away from cancer and it’s important to carry on the research,” she said.

This year marks the 12th time Greenberg will run with the Dana Farber team and he gives his wife credit for joining the two together. “It became a marriage made in heaven,” he said. “I could continue to run the Boston Marathon and do something wonderful for kids with cancer.”

Since he began running in 1975, Greenberg has completed 41 marathons throughout the country, including Miami, New York City and San Francisco. “I own my own consulting company and between emails and voicemails, I’m talking to people all day long,” he said. “When I run I’m alone and I do my best thinking then.”

Greenberg enjoys running along trails, golf courses, and beaches as well as across the Atlantic Beach Bridge. “It’s really my time,” he said. “Over the years running has become more casual and recreation.”

On April 15, Greenberg will run 26 miles in the Boston Marathon on behalf of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. On the night prior to the race, he and Louise will attend the organization’s annual dinner that honors the participants and gives them a chance to meet doctors and parents of children with cancer. “It’s a very emotional evening,” Greenberg said.

“We are thrilled to have more than 550 runners on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team this year who are dedicated to raising funds to support cancer research at Dana-Farber,” said Jan Ross, the organization’s director of running programs. “One-hundred-percent of the money raised benefits Dana-Farber’s Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research, which supports cornerstone science research in its earliest stages, providing researchers with critical resources to test their leading-edge ideas.”

Hoping to raise as much money as possible for the organization propels Greenberg forward. He will also continue competing in triathlons this summer.

“Triathlons are much easier for me because they require swimming and biking which is a lot easier on my body than running for three hours,” Greenberg said. “It doesn’t take as big of a toll and though I’m still serious and competitive, I know I won’t win the Boston Marathon.”

Louise said she would continue to support her husband in all of his athletic ventures. “It’s a fabulous thing,” she said about his marathon running. “I give him a lot of credit for still running and I hope he continues to do it for the rest of his life.”