At the heart of it: Dartmouth man to run Boston Marathon for children's hospital

Every year tens of thousands of runners flock to Hopkinton, Mass. to run the Boston Marathon, each with a story of what brought them to the starting line, and Dartmouth resident Matt Medeiros is no exception.

Medeiros first ran the Boston Marathon with Credit Union Kids at Heart in 2019, when he met now 14-year-old Vraj Purohit, who has cerebral palsy and a history of seizures.

“Along the way I met a family that was just amazing, and they’re like a part of my family,” Medeiros said.

Vraj’s mother, Bhavina Hirapara, said that Vraj and Matt “share a very great bond” and that as the years have gone by the bond between their families has deepened.

“Vraj loves to give hugs to [Matt],” she said.

Medeiros is now returning to the Boston Marathon course to once again run in partnership with Vraj and Credit Union Kids at Heart, an organization that raises money for research into pediatric neurological diseases.

Medeiros and Vraj met through the Boston Children’s Hospital’s patient partner program, which pairs runners with children who receive treatment at the hospital, which Medeiros said “gives the run a purpose.”

“It puts a name to the face and it creates a relationship where you wouldn’t necessarily have it just because you’re running Boston,” he said.

While Medeiros is officially running as part of the Boston Children’s team, the money he raises will go directly to Credit Union Kids at Heart and researching childhood illnesses.

“It’s going to … things that the children didn’t ask for,” he noted.

He said it’s a “great and awesome thing to know that the funds aren’t just going into a general fund that can be used for any purpose.”

Hirapara said, “It is very, very close to our heart that direct research funding is happening through this Credit Union Kids at Heart.”

She said that it’s important to her family to know that the money raised is being used.

“We know that the money that is coming here is going to go into the research that is eventually helping [Vraj’s] life, make him comfortable and improve his quality of life,” Bhavina said.

Medeiros, who works at BrightBridge Credit Union, raised the majority of his money through a chain of hearts fundraiser at each of the company’s branches and sharing with members his reason for running.

As part of the fundraiser, people made a donation in exchange for getting a heart on the wall.

“Our membership was just more than willing to participate in such a great cause,” Medeiros said.

He said the fundraiser began in mid-February and that they reached their goal in mid-March.

“It was amazing to see,” he said.

Medeiros said that training for the marathon can be hard but noted that knowing he isn’t running for himself makes it easier.

“I’m running for a purpose. I’m running for Vraj, I’m running for Boston Children’s. I’m running for all the kids that can’t,” he said.