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Inaugural Cellucci tribute race draws huge crowd, supports ALS research at UMass Chan

A few showers on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, could not dampen the spirits or the enthusiasm of the more than 1,000 runners and walkers who participated in the inaugural Governor Cellucci Tribute Road Race in Hudson, Mass. Held in honor of the late Paul Cellucci’s commitment to fund ALS research at UMass Chan Medical School and his lifelong dedication to public service, the race, which ran through his historic hometown, benefited the UMass ALS Cellucci Fund, launched in 2011 by the former governor to fund research into a cure after he was diagnosed with the disease.

Robert Brown“What’s important is that 20 minutes from our home is one of the world’s foremost ALS researchers with an extraordinary team,” said Jan Cellucci, race organizer and the governor’s widow, referring to UMass Chan Medical School’s Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD, who was the late Gov. Cellucci’s physician. “That team has the ability to take breakthrough opportunities and go in so many different directions. There is an extraordinary amount of excellence at UMass Chan Medical School and we need to support their work.”

Jan Cellucci said she, her daughters, Kate Cellucci and Anne Cellucci Adams, and the entire race committee were thrilled by the large turnout. She noted the event served as a “rallying point” for the many participants who were supporting a loved one with ALS or remembering someone lost to the disease.

The goal of the UMass ALS Cellucci Fund is to establish an endowment to seed the boldest research ideas in the interdisciplinary laboratories at UMMS under the direction of Dr. Brown, the Leo P. and Theresa M. LaChance Chair in Medical Research and chair and professor of neurology, who is one of the world’s foremost authorities on ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease). Approximately $3.5 million in gifts and pledges have been raised as of July 2015. Cellucci died in June 2013 from complications of ALS. He was 65.

View a video recap of the inaugural Cellucci Road Race online: http://bit.ly/cellucci_road_race_2014_video

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Photos

Top left: Amy Wiswell, of Townsend, was among the hundreds of runners off at the starting line.

Top right: From left are, Anne Cellucci Adams holding daughter Lucia; former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld; Gabriel Westberg, Francesca and Rhys Adams with grandmother Jan Cellucci; and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Adams is the daughter of Jan Cellucci and the late Gov. Paul Cellucci.

Above: Robert H. Brown Jr., DPhil, MD is interviewed by New England Cable News prior to the start of the race.