The Massage Therapy Foundation (MTF) announced its team of runners who will be participating in the 2013 Boston Marathon on April 15 to raise money on behalf of the MTF for research, education, and community service. The selected runners include Kathy Borsuk, co-owner of Hillsborough Massage Therapy and member of the American Massage Therapy Association; Tom Heidenberger, president and owner of Bon Vital; and Les Sweeney, president of Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. The MTF’s Boston Marathon bibs were acquired through the John Hancock Non-Profit Bib program.
Each year John Hancock donates guaranteed entries to select nonprofits, which use these entries to recruit individual runners to raise money for their cause. Last year, John Hancock nonprofit runners raised more than $6.8 million for more than 121 different local organizations. The MTF Running for Research team of runners will be raising money and creating awareness for the massage industry over the next five months. Each team member will be sharing their story and tracking their progress on the Massage Therapy Foundation team webpage. “We are so excited to be a part of the John Hancock Non-Profit Bib program this year,” says Ruth Werner, board president of the MTF. "Massage plays a supportive role in the training and recovery of events like long distance running, and John Hancock recognizes that, employing a team of massage therapists to work with their elite runners every year during the Boston Marathon. This will help us create a lot of awareness and raise money for our efforts.”