Samaritans Marathon Team

All members of the Samaritans Team are safe and accounted for. As relieved as we are for our community, our hearts go out to those runners and families dealing with such tremendous loss on what was intended to be one of the very happiest of days.  Our thoughts are with them.

Laura Aloisi

Laura is currently in her last year of graduate school at Rivier University where she is working towards her masters in School Counseling and also helping to coach the Women’s Basketball team. She currently resides in Hollis, NH with her boyfriend, Travis and their pride and joy, pit-bull mix, Ray. Laura loves being outdoors, playing hoops, running and being with family and friends. She ran the Samaritans 5K this past September with her sister, Kristina, and was completely moved by the work of Samaritans.  She will be running this year’s Boston Marathon in memory of her Uncle Jimmy, who her family lost to suicide in 2007.

Click here to visit Laura's Fundraising Webpage

Marc Bellanger

Marc is a Senior Vice President of Marketing at The Kessler Group in Boston.  He lives with his wife Suzanne and two kids, Claudie and Gavin, in Westwood, MA.  After the suicide of his father in 2003, Marc was looking for a way to could help others avoid the pain and confusion of suicide.  He was also looking for a community that could help him personally cope with his father’s suicide.  The Samaritans provided both.  Since his initial involvement as 5K Team Captain in 2004 (and every year since), Marc volunteered in a number of ways, including as a board member since 2005. He was part of the 2012 Marathon Team, but deferred to this year's marathon due to the extreme heat.

Click here to visit Marc's Fundraising Webpage

Sarah Duncan

Sarah grew up in northern New Hampshire and currently resides in North Andover, MA with her husband, Mark, and daughter, Grace. She has participated in organized sports all her life such as soccer, softball and ski racing. She became involved in running approximately three years ago around the time she became involved with the Samaritans. Sarah has organized large team for the Samaritans 5K since 2009 in memory of her mother, who took her life in July of 1994. This will be Sarah's first marathon.

Click here to visit Sarah's Fundraising Webpage

Carrie Flynn

Carrie is from Scituate, MA and is running this year's Boston Marathon in memory of her college roommate and dear friend, Ashley Kilburn-Peterson, and childhood friend, Wendy Michelle Curtis. She strives to bring hope to all who have lost a loved one to suicide and awareness of the Samaritans' mission to the community.  Carrie has also participated in the Samaritans 5K for over six years as a part of Ashley's Team. Along with Ashley's friends and family, Carrie has enjoyed watching the 5K (and her team!) grow each year. This will be Carrie's second time running the Boston Marathon for Samaritans.

Click here to visit Carrie's Fundraising Webpage

Kim Gagnon

Kim has run the Boston Marathon for Samaritans for five consecutive year! She runs in memory of her sister, Jodi Ann Simms, who died by suicide in 2006. Kim and her family have formed Jodi Ann's Team at the Annual Samairtans 5K for six straight years and have raised over $35,000 for suicide prevention. Kim also serves on Samaritans' Board of Directors. She lives in Franklin, MA.

Click here to visit Kim's Fundraising Webpage

Peter Gould

Peter is the Senior Director of Client Services for MedVentive (now part of McKesson).  He lives in Framingham with his wife Nancy, his son Sam and daughter Morgan.  An avid runner since 1980, Peter has done countless 5Ks, 10Ks, and three half marathons - the most recent was this past November in Wayland. His daughter serves as a helpline volunteer at Samaritans and her positive experience taking calls on the helpline was one of the big reasons that Peter wanted to support the organization.

Click here to visit Peter's Fundraising Webpage

Susana Locke

Susanna (Xana) grew up in Arlington, MA and currently lives in Watertown, MA with her husband, Matt.  The 2013 Boston Marathon will be Xana's first marathon and she couldn't be happier to be running on the Samaritans team.  As a social worker at Boston Children's Hospital, Xana is honored to work with children and families, many of whom have been directly impacted by suicide.  She is passionate about increasing suicide prevention awareness and is thrilled to support Samaritans' mission.  Xana has participated in four Samaritans 5K events as a member of Rob's Runners and volunteered at last year's Make Noise to Save a Life event.

Click here to visit Xana's Fundraising Webpage

Kevin Long

Born in rural Pennsylvania, Kevin is now a proud Bostonian. He teaches at a high school (business classes) in the Boston-metro area, coaches their cross country team, and considers himself to be an avid runner. The 2013 Boston Marathon will be his 5th marathon and is shortly after his 30th birthday! When he's not running...or teaching...or teaching running, he is out enjoying the city, spending time with friends, and hopefully laughing as much as possible. Kevin is excited to run the marathon for Samaritans in honor of his best friend who took his life this past fall.

Click here to visit Kevin's Fundraising Webpage

Sean McQuarrie

Sean is currently living in Boston but is originally from Bow, NH. He works at a small public auditing firm in Burlington, MA and recently obtained his CPA license. Running has always been one of Sean’s passions, but this will be his first marathon. He has been connected with the Samaritans since he began volunteering on the Samaritans helpline in February 2011. Recently taking on more responsibility with the organization, he became an on-call homeleader, supporting helpline volunteers during their shifts. His involvement with the Samaritans has only increased Sean’s commitment to helping those in need and furthering Samaritans’ mission and life saving services.

Click here to visit Sean's Fundraising Webpage

Peter Mongeau

Peter lives in his hometown of Melrose with his family (wife, Joan and two sets of twins: Will & Ben and Tim & Julia). Up until now, he considered himself a short-distance runner, but with encouragement from co-workers at John Hancock and then family members, decided to run the Boston Marathon in memory of his sister, Kathy, who died from suicide. Peter will follow the footsteps of Kathy's daughter, Alicia, who already ran Boston in memory of her mother. Under the championship of his brother, Stephen (former Samaritans board chair), Peter and his entire extended family - some 65 of them - have supported Samaritans for several years, including many joining in the annual 5K walk/run.

Click here to visit Peter's Fundraising Webpage

Helene Newberg

Helene has lived in the Boston area for more than 25 years. A 2010 law school graduate, Helene recently served as an AmeriCorps member working towards hunger relief. She has run three marathons, many half marathons, local races and has completed one triathlon, but this will be her first Boston Marathon. Helene helped co-captain Team #7 Running for this year's 5K to honor the memory of Shaira Ali, a neighborhood teenager for whom running was #7 on the list of 100 things that made her happy. The daughter of friends, Shaira died by suicide on Marathon Monday, 2012. Helene is honored to use her running to raise awareness of adolescent mental health and to make sure the crucial support Samaritans provide remains available to all in need.

Click here to visit Helene's Fundraising Webpage

Alicia O'Donnell

Alicia moved to Cambridge from Glasgow, Scotland in January 2012 with her husband John and now works as a Nutritionist in Dorchester.  The Boston Marathon will be Alicia’s first ever marathon. Helping out at the annual Samaritans 5K Run/Walk in October and hearing first-hand the impact of the support provided by the organization left Alicia feeling inspired to do something to help. She had supported her friend, Kirstie Crawford, who ran the 2012 Marathon Team on behalf of Samaritans and decided that the 2013 Marathon would be her way to support the organization!  Hearing the inspiring stories of her fellow runners has only added to her motivation to do her best for the team.

Kevin Quinlan

Kevin is a trained Samaritans helpline volunteer and has run the Samaritans 5K as a member of Christian's Team for many years. He is also a key volunteer at the 5K, and thanks to his support, the event has reached new heights in recent years! This will be Kevin's fourth time running the Boston Marathon on behalf of Samaritans, and his fifth marathon overall. Kevin is president of Quinlan-Wasserman, a Boston-based flower wholesale company, which has generously sponsored many Samaritans events throughout the years. Kevin lives in Carlisle, MA with his wife and two daughters.

Click here to visit Kevin's Fundraising Webpage 

Meghan Shanahan

Meghan was born and raised in Acton, MA and currently live in Jamaica Plain. She became involved with the Samaritans as a volunteer on their helpline in 2009, and has run in the annual Samaritans 5K for many years. Meghan has a passion for assisting those who struggle and works as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This will be her first marathon.

Click here to visit Meghan's Fundraising Webpage 

Laura Sullivan

Laura Sullivan grew up in Sterling, MA and currently lives in Washington, D.C where she works as a critical care nurse.  This will be her first marathon and she is thrilled to represent Samaritans.  Since the loss of her cousin to suicide in 2011 she has become dedicated to raising awareness and reducing the incidence of suicide.  She is currently a trained suicide prevention volunteer on a local helpline in DC and has been touched by the mission and impact of Samaritans.  She is inspired by the stories of the other Samaritan's runners and excited to be a part of an amazing team!

Click here to visit Laura's Fundraising Webpage

Leslie Unger

Leslie grew up in rural northern California and has lived in Boston for the last 8 years. She started working as a helpline volunteer at Samaritans last spring and has found it to be an extremely enlightening and enriching experience.  She loves being a part of such an impactful organization.  She is very impressed with the various services Samaritans offers and is thrilled to help support them.  A runner since middle school, Leslie has always dreamed of running in the Boston marathon.  She ran one other marathon in Seoul, Korea, in 2005, and is excited about the challenge of Boston!

Click here to visit Leslie's Fundraising Webpage

Erin Wallace

Erin was born and raised in Massachusetts and attended Saint Anselm College in Goffstown NH.  She currently lives on the South Shore with her husband James and their two young children.  Competing in a marathon has always been a lifelong dream and on April 15th she will participate in the 117th running of the Boston Marathon, her first marathon.  Erin lost her brother-in-law George in May of 2008 to suicide.  Since Georgie's passing, their family has benefited from the Samaritans counseling and grief support and has also participated in the "Run for Someone Else's Life" 5K the last few years.

Click here to visit Erin's Fundraising Webpage