A senior at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and member of the UMass chapter of Her Campus, Lily Krivopal, announced her plans to run the 2024 Boston Marathon occurring on April 15.
Krivopal shared to her Instagram on Monday, October 1 that she will be running and fundraising on the One Mission team with the goal of raising $12,000. She shared her excitement with followers, friends, and family and asked them to consider donating saying, “no amount is too little!!”
Getting into running relatively recently, Krivopal quickly fell in love with the sport and decided that she wanted to run a marathon in 2022. She especially enjoys running for a cause because it allows her to use something that she loves doing to help others. She also says that fundraising is a great motivator when she is feeling discouraged, a reminder, “I’m not doing this for me, I’m doing this for other people and myself.”
Krivopal had trained, fundraised, and planned to run in the 2022 Boston Marathon, but tested positive for COVID-19 only three days before the race. Although she was unable to run, the money from her fundraising efforts was donated to the organization she was representing, Golf Fights Cancer.
During this time, while stuck in bed with a high fever and other symptoms, Krivopal deleted her social media, as it flooded with reminders of the upcoming race she had to miss. She says it helped her to shift her mentality, knowing that she has many more years of marathon running ahead. Krivopal says that despite being one of the toughest mental challenges she’s faced, the setback has only made her more determined to cross the finish line this year. Living in Massachusetts, Lily recalls growing up attending the Boston Marathon and says she can’t even believe she has the opportunity to run it. Krivopal’s goals for this year’s race are to be injury-free, “enjoy every minute of the race itself,” and spread the word about the One Mission organization.
According to the One Mission website, the organization has raised over $980,000 since 2014 as an official fundraiser for the Boston Marathon. As of Oct. 4, One Mission’s 2024 Boston Marathon team has five runners fundraising with them and a total goal of raising $110,000. One Mission is a public charity aimed at making life brighter for kids and families battling cancer. The organization works to “reduce stress, restore joy, and give children and their loved ones the support they need” as they face the endless challenges of fighting cancer.
For Lily Krivopal, a big part of running comes down to mentality. By listening to music, running with friends, and talking on the phone, she recommends finding ways to keep training fun and keeping it from feeling like a chore. Her top three go-to run songs right now are “New Perspective” by Noah Kahan for feeling triumphant, “Chiquitita” by Abba for pacing, and “Going Bad” by Meek Mill featuring Drake for going faster and raising energy.
Click here to donate to Lily Krivopal’s 2024 Boston Marathon fundraiser with One Mission
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