Community Member-Led Event
This fundraiser is in honor of my dad, Thom Beal.
On April 5th, 2025, I’ll be running my first half marathon in Charlottesville, VA, in honor of my dad. Every step of these 13.1 miles will symbolize moving one step closer to finding a cure for glioblastoma (GBM). I hope you’ll support me and the Glioblastoma Research Organization by donating to fund critical research for this devastating cancer.
My dad was full of love and wonder for the world around him. He loved traveling and being in nature, and deeply appreciated and celebrated literature, art, history, and music. He was a phenomenal chef, host, and homemaker. He taught me so much, but above all, he implored me to learn everything I could about the world and to never stop exploring it. Kind, generous, and incredibly intelligent, he was a devoted father.
In 2014, my dad began a battle for his life against brain and lung cancer. He endured radiation therapy, surgery to remove two-thirds of his right lung, and years of chemotherapy—determined to watch me grow up. He was the definition of a fighter. In the spring of 2023, after nearly a decade of illness, he was declared cancer-free. Our family felt an enormous weight lifted, ready to begin a new chapter.
But at the end of this past summer, he began struggling with his words and balance. I returned to Virginia Tech for my junior year but felt something was seriously wrong. In October, I rushed home and met him and my mom at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, where we learned he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma multiforme. The options were few, and the outlook was grim. To hear this news was devastating, but watching GBM attack his body relentlessly was beyond my worst nightmare.
The last time I saw him over Thanksgiving, he told me he wasn’t giving up. He held me as if he would never let go. Even in unbearable pain, with little ability to speak, he put us before himself, asking over and over if we were okay. Witnessing his unimaginable suffering yet seeing him embody strength and resilience until the very end will stay with me forever.
On December 13th, he found eternal peace. We miss him beyond words.
My dad’s love for running inspired me to join my high school cross-country team, where I found an incredible community. Over the past two summers, I’ve worked at Fleet Feet Princeton, where I’ve met countless runners whose discipline, passion, and stories continue to inspire me.
I’ve run on and off during college, but since his passing, running has become my solace. It reminds me of his philosophy—that life’s highs and lows coexist, that hard work is needed to achieve great things with mistakes that are only lessons along the way. Running has allowed me to transform my pain into purpose and find pockets of light in the dark.
Thank you for your support, generosity, and encouragement. It truly means everything to me!
💚 - Julia Beal-Diaz
