Images Courtesy of Matty Vogel ’29
Being a first-semester college student is hard, but being one while raising money for cancer research seems impossible. Matty Vogel ‘29, a first-year at Connecticut College, is proving that it can be done — and at record-breaking levels.
For the past few months, while balancing his psychology classwork with his time playing on the men’s soccer team, Vogel has been training for his spring debut in the Boston Marathon, where he is raising money for cancer research at the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Vogel hasn’t run a marathon before, but has been waiting for the opportunity his whole life.
“I have always thought it was a really powerful thing to do — to take on a challenge of this magnitude — and I love seeing people come together to support a cause,” Vogel said.
Vogel’s grandmother, Sue, passed away from breast cancer when he was young. Today, his grandfather, whom he calls Papa, lives afflicted by lung cancer, the disease at one point spreading to his brain. After his grandmother passed, Vogel wanted to take action. By running the Boston Marathon, a race that he grew up watching from his home on mile 20 of the course, he knew he could help his grandfather and thousands of others while doing something he loved.
“I think running a marathon is just extremely difficult, so I wanted to do something really challenging to show my support for him,” he said.
The Claudia Adams Barr Program at Dana-Farber supports new lines of research for scientists investigating cancer treatment. According to their website, the program has helped fund treatment opportunities for blood, brain, breast, lung, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers. The initiative was founded in 1990 when trustees of the Cancer Institute offered a “challenge grant” to Dana-Farber that would raise funds from the marathon. Since then, more than $140 million has been raised to defy cancer, and more than 500 runners will participate in the marathon program in 2026.
Vogel began working with Dana-Farber once his application was accepted this past summer. Out of 4,000 applicants for the 2026 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, only 500 were given a bib for the race. Each runner is committed to raising $12,000 and Vogel originally set his goal at $20,000. That goal, he said, was met within a week. So, he reset to $30,000 with the hopes of bypassing that goal too.
“Dana-Farber has such good resources and a great platform that has made it easy to raise money and gain the early success that I have had,” he said.
Now, his campaign has raised more than $36,000, with his eventual goal being $50,000 by race day. With the support he has found in those around him and the momentum of his fundraiser, Vogel is confident that he can hit that goal by April. He is currently the top fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Marathon Campaign.
“It was a little overwhelming at first, knowing that I had to raise $20,000 to start. I’m still a first-year in college trying to settle in and focus on the soccer season. But I networked a lot and reached out to relatives and random friends that I hadn’t talked to in years. Any amount helps,” he said.
Vogel not only had to fundraise and train for the race, but did so while maintaining his life as a student and member of Connecticut College’s nationally ranked men’s soccer team. He said he worked diligently over the summer and the beginning of the school year to organize himself, securing two internships in psychology and getting his body in shape for the upcoming season. With the help of his Dana-Farber liaison Erin Cathron-Warfield, who helps organize Vogel’s donations and fundraising page, he was able to manage the soccer workload and marathon training during the fall semester. But with soccer and distance running requiring two distinct training methods, synthesizing the two wasn’t always easy.
“There is athletics, there is academics, and then there is my career,” he said. “Soccer is the number one priority right now, but I’m still trying to bridge the gap to get my body used to the mileage and the linear running.”
As the soccer season wound down, Vogel upped his marathon training, increasing his mileage and adding tempo-paced runs. Distance running is something he said he could eventually fall in love with, both for himself and for his grandparents’ legacy. After Boston, he plans on continuing endurance training and fundraising for other marathons or cancer research organizations.
“I see the natural progression of this pathway leading to myself doing HYROX, ultramarathons, and an IronMan by the end of my life. I’ve always enjoyed exercising, and now it’s combined with fundraising for something I truly believe in.”
As Vogel nears his $50,000 goal, he reflects on what he learned in such a short time. Seeing the kindness of friends and family, and the impact that one person can make when they believe in their cause, he recommends that everyone be open to this kind of experience.
“Anyone should be open to fundraising for what they believe in,” he said. “Even if it may seem daunting at first, you wouldn’t believe the good in people around you and the good they are capable of.”
If you would like to donate to Matty Vogel’s campaign, you can visit Matty Vogel’s Fundraising Page – Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.
