By Alex Cornacchia, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – On a designated day every September, a small group gathers at the starting line of the Boston Marathon. It's 5:30 a.m. They start to walk. The beginning is dark; there aren's many people cheering at the first checkpoint. Gradually, though, the sun starts to come up. More people join in at the halfway mark. The cheering sections become bigger, and louder. By the end, it's hard to maneuver because of the hordes of people making their way to the finish line.
Tracy Flynn, of Shrewsbury, is one of these walkers. She and the other members of Team Chickaroo will be taking part in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk this year on Sept. 21 in order to raise money for Pediatric Low-Grade Astrocytoma (PLGA) research, a form of childhood brain cancer.
Team Chickaroo formed back in 2007 when then six-year-old Caroline Hamilton, of Methuen, was diagnosed with the disease. It was a devastating diagnosis, punctuated by the fact that the location of her tumor made it inoperable. Noting the lack of funding that went towards PLGA research, Caroline's parents decided to take action and rally together a team. They called it “Chickaroo,” their daughter's childhood nickname.
Flynn first met Caroline in summer of 2007 at Camp Sunshine, a camp in Casco, Maine for children and the families of children with life-threatening illnesses. She was there with a group of volunteers from St. Anne's Parish in Shrewsbury, where she is a co-director of religious education.
She recalled helping Caroline and her family to unload the car and move in, welcoming them to the camp. That initial encounter was the beginning of a bond between Flynn and the Hamilton family.
“[Caroline is] a sweet, sweet girl. She's so bright,” Flynn said. “And they'se just a wonderful, wonderful family.”
After the camp ended, Flynn made an effort to stay in touch with the Hamiltons. She followed Caroline's journey through e-mail updates, keeping track of her successes and setbacks.
“When I knew what was going on with her all the time, I really realized the struggles [they were going through],” Flynn reflected.
Wanting to support Caroline however she could, Flynn gave money to Team Chickaroo every year. But when Caroline hit a particularly low point in 2011, she knew she had to do something more. That's when she decided to walk.
Sept. ?21 will mark Tracy's third year participating in the walk. Although team members can opt to walk shorter portions of the marathon – 3 miles, 5 miles, or 13.1 miles – Flynn has always chosen to do the entire 26.2 miles. She loves watching that tiny group at the beginning transform into an enormous crowd at the finish line.
“I can's imagine not doing the whole thing,” she said.
Flynn has also found an unexpected perk from participating in the walk. In 2011, her first year, she befriended a woman who walked at her pace. They now use the walk as a way to catch up with each other.
“We talk for seven hours about whatever happened in that year,” Flynn laughed.
Although the day is largely a joyous occasion, she doesn's forget what is bringing everyone there in the first place.
“What can you do when you have a friend who has a sick kid?” she asked. “I can's do anything. But I can walk.”
This year, Team Chickaroo hopes to raise $50,000 to go towards PLGA research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Those interested can go to http://jimmyfundwalk.org/2014/teamchickaroo
either to support a team member or to sign up to do the walk. Donations will continue to be accepted until Oct. 31.