In the long forgotten early 2000s, I arrived at University of Virginia where I was randomly placed on the fourth floor of a dorm called Woody. At some point my parents left, I started feeling homesick and found myself attending a “floor meeting” with the other girls living on the same floor. Little did I know that a boring administrative meeting would result in a lifelong friendship with a girl named Nancy from Birmingham, Michigan who wore blazers and pearls (I was still in my Abercrombie low rider sweatpants stage of my life at the time) and who, perhaps even more glaringly, had a “W’04” sticker on her laptop (we reached a détente on that point, see second to last slide holding his memoir).  The earliest photo I could find of us (see last slide) does point to a shared love for late night food, so may be that's what did it for the two of us! 

A few years after graduation, Nancy moved to London and I heard about/met several suitors while she lived (including a possible MI-6 agent who showed up at restaurants with his collapsible bike), but it was not until a Nick Hungerford entered Nancy’s life that we knew that he would be sticking around.

There are so many things to say about Nick – best husband to our wonderful Nancy, the most loving dad to Elizabeth, dashing Englishman, genius Stanford graduate, pioneering fintech entrepreneur, all around athletic superstar and England’s biggest fan across all sports. And more recently, breaking the hearts of all of us who know him, the bravest, wisest and most virtuous warrior against cancer.

In 2019, Nick was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. After 10 months of chemo and surgery that saw his femur replaced with an aluminum rod and the muscles between his hip and knee removed, the cancer was no longer visible. Unfortunately, after 14 months of clear scans, this past November, a scan showed that Nick’s cancer had come back – this time in the lungs. The Hungerford family moved from Singapore to Boston for Nick’s treatment, which has included intensive chemotherapy and radiation. Regrettably in early August, further scans discovered new tumors in his spine, ribs and lungs. But ever the warrior, Nick continues to fight with his chin up, spirit soaring and sense of humor intact.

As some of you might recall, I started running about a decade ago when I lost my sister and decided to do a marathon
in her honor (and somehow I both finished and avoided a cardiac arrest). Completing the New York marathon not only gave me the gift of running to carry her spirit with me always, but to see how people of all ages and all shapes and sizes (and costumes – here is to the man wearing a banana costume who pretty much ran alongside me the whole time!) run it to remember their loved ones, bring hope to others and raise money for causes that truly matter and make a difference.

So, this year, in an effort to support Nick kick cancer’s butt, I will be running the London marathon (and hopefully finish, but trust me 42.2 km/26.2 miles feels different in your 30s) to raise money for Sarcoma UK. It would mean so much to me and Nick, Nancy and Elizabeth if you could contribute in any way. Thank you so much in advance and see you on the finish line!