On August 18th The One Love Run Club once again gathered in foggy Woods Hole with 15,000 other runners at the starting line for the Falmouth Road Race. The team this year consisted of newcomer Jared Cacciapaglia as well as veterans Matthew, Billy & Katie Lovetere and Josh Howe. With the support of our family + friends, we were able to raise $9,807.30 as a team and $54,065.30 as a charity for We Beat Cancer. Thanks to everyone who contributed to these efforts in some way!
It’s hard to believe we were just 2 years removed from the photo above taken on race day in 2022. That was the day that our father, Peter, decided to run the race for the first and last time. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer over a year prior to that, and to show how healthy he felt, he decided to run. Amazingly he was able to finish in under 90 minutes. It was a triumphant day for everyone. At the time we felt like maybe he had a chance but he passed away exactly 1 year later on race day. We got the news from our mom on the way to the starting line. He battled like hell over the previous 6 months and it was painstaking to see him wither in such a short amount of time. Flash forward again to this year, now 1 year after his passing, and the power of this race feels more significant than ever before. Even though he lost his battle with cancer there’s nothing quite running a yearly race to raise money for a local charity called “We Beat Cancer”.
As usual, Billy finished first of our group in under an hour and more than 10 minutes ahead of second place, Jared. I barely took home the bronze and was followed up by Katie and Josh respectively. We all walked away without any major injuries and a full heart as the number of spectators that cheered us on broke an attendance record.
Even though the day carries a heavy weight, Peter picked a great day to pass on. With all of the support from family and the crowd, it’s impossible to feel down. It’s just how he would have wanted it, us surrounded by thousands of supporters, cheering us on as we remember just how good a guy our dad was. His spirit lives on in a number of ways but none more powerful than the love we feel on race day.
