Newtown Parents To Run Boston Marathon

03:14

April 12, 2013

A group of parents from Newtown, Conn. are running the marathon in memory of the 26 people killed in the mass shooting there in December. Laura Nowacki (far right) says "We're all parents. We're Sandy Hook parents. We're also runners and we are here to run 26 miles for 26 lives." (Alex Ashlock/Here & Now) — A group of parents from Newtown, Conn. is running the marathon in memory of the 26 people killed in the mass shooting there in December. Laura Nowacki (far right) says "We're all parents. We're Sandy Hook parents. We're also runners and we are here to run 26 miles for 26 lives." Nowacki's daughter survived the shooting. (Alex Ashlock/Here & Now)

The 117th Boston Marathon takes place on Monday.

Here & Now's Alex Ashlock has been speaking to some of the top runners and joins us from race headquarters to tell us what he's hearing.

He'll also tell us about one of the many groups running for charity: Team NewtownSTRONG.

The team is running to support NewtownSTRONG, a charitable foundation raising scholarship money for the siblings of children lost in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. on December 14, 2012.

"In the first 20 miles we're honoring our 20 Sandy Hook first graders, and when we crest Heartbreak Hill and we're coming back towards Boston, we run the final six for our six fallen educators who gave everything of themselves, including their lives, to protect our children," said Laura Nowacki, who is part of the team, and whose fourth grade daughter survived the shooting.

This segment aired on April 12, 2013.

Boston Marathon bombing