Sorry, Ma

Sometimes daughters do things their mothers would rather they didn’t.

I can’t imagine my mother would want her daughter—the kid who skipped gym class, kept her nose in a book while everyone else was on the playground, and once nearly knocked herself out with her own knee during aerobics—to run 26.2 miles through the streets of New York City. And she certainly wouldn’t want me to do it in her name.

Sorry, Ma.

On the last day of summer in her 60th year, Carolyn Ann Alberto Darcy left us. To say it was far too soon would be a gross understatement. Sixty birthdays. Sixty autumns—the season she loved most. Sixty Christmases. She is deeply missed every single day.

My mother died of kidney cancer. It came out of nowhere: she was diagnosed in August and gone in September.

This year, as I approach a milestone birthday of my own, I’m doing something I never imagined I could do. I’m joining Fred’s Team, the official running program of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to run the 2026 New York City Marathon.

I’m running in memory of my mother—and to help other families have more birthdays, more autumns, more Christmases, and more time together.

My goal is to raise as much as I can for groundbreaking cancer research at MSK. Every donation, no matter the amount, will support that vital work—and give me a much-needed boost in this slightly improbably adventure. You can support with a donation here. Thanks so much.

Mary