Boston Marathon runners raise money for causes close to their hearts

Many elite runners participated in the Boston Marathon on Monday, and they were joined by runners who participated for a good cause.

Audrey and Steven Reny’s daughter Gillian was critically injured in the 2013 Marathon bombing. Gillian sustained critical injuries to both of her legs.

"No mom should ever see their child in such a compromised situation," Audrey Reny said. "We were so fortunate to be rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where they were able to save both her life and her limbs."

Gillian’s family created the Stepping Strong team, hoping to transform the outcome for trauma patients.

"We realized there was really not a lot of research and money that was being raised to benefit trauma care, and to trauma research and that’s where we focused our attention," Steven Reny said.

Team Stepping Strong so far has raised $7 million.

Also running for Brigham and Women’s Hospital is Terry Halperin, whose husband, Dr. Michael Davidson was shot and killed last year while at work at the hospital.

"He was supposed to run with me this year, it’s my 40th birthday coming up, he ran this race for the Brigham for his 40th birthday and I’m running this in honor of him," Halperin said.

Halperin is raising money to create a foundation in her husband’s name.

Blind runner Simon Wheatcroft is running with Team with a Vision. He ran on Monday with a guide, but is developing an app that will hopefully allow him to run on his own.

"Today we are testing the app, and the app is really quite simple, it works just like parking sensors, so if i deviate away from the desired course, it uses beeps to bring me back in line," he said.

Amputee Andrew Avelino, a member of the US Army, joined up with bombing survivor Heather Abbott’s team, Limitless, which raises money for people who need prosthetics.

"I think heather’s foundation is great, I’m really excited to raise money to allow other people to have prosthetics," he said.

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