EndoFound’s Team EndoStrong has become a fixture at the New York City Marathon. The race on November 2 will be the team’s eleventh consecutive year as a charity partner with the marathon, and Clare Murphy expects it will be one of the most exciting.
“If you’ve ever participated in the marathon, you know how special and exhilarating it is to run through the five boroughs with the streets packed with people cheering you on,” said Murphy, in her third year as Team EndoStrong’s coordinator. “And with it being Halloween weekend, I’m anticipating it will be extra rowdy and full of energy, which will be great for our runners.”
According to New York Road Runners, the first New York City Marathon took place in 1970 with 127 runners and 55 finishers. Last year, a record 56,012 runners participated, with 55,644 of them from 137 countries finishing. Since 2006, $520 million has been raised through the race for charity.
In 2024, Team EndoStrong featured 50 runners, with each one asked to raise $4,000 for EndoFound. They collectively surpassed their $200,000 goal by bringing in nearly $225,000. This year, the team has 50 slots again, and each runner is trying to raise $5,000. Proportionally, though, the team goal is much more ambitious. Murphy has her sights set on $300,000, which includes support from Team EndoStrong’s first major brand sponsor in Bonzer Athletics, a company founded by women that designs and sells sunglasses for runners.
“For a brand like Bonzer to support what we do and women’s health in general will be influential in the running industry,” Murphy said. “I’m really excited about our growing partnership with them.”
Running for Team EndoStrong has always been more than just showing up on the day of the race. Murphy connects the runners, who live across the U.S., through text messages months in advance so they can share training regimens, get to know each other, and encourage one another.
“I really like to push community, camaraderie, and having a very supportive environment for every runner, no matter where they are in their running journey,” Murphy said. “We’re not focused on their athletic ability. We’re focused on their passion for this disease and their willingness to raise and run for EndoFound.”
Several of Team EndoStrong’s runners have endometriosis. Other runners are friends or family members of someone with the disease. In either case, everyone has a personal connection. That’s also what drives Murphy—who has worked closely with endometriosis patients as a medical and research assistant—to make each year’s race bigger and better for the team and the foundation.
“This is the marrying of my two passions,” Murphy said. “I’m passionate about running, and I’m very dedicated to the foundation and women who are struggling with this disease. I want to be a beacon of light and an advocate for them, and I also want to give them hope through my fundraising efforts.”
EndoFound will have a tent somewhere on First Avenue for supporters to cheer for the team and for anyone to obtain information on endometriosis and the foundation. The tent location will be determined soon, and several stories will be published about Team EndoStrong runners on the EndoFound website in the coming weeks. To keep up with this and other information on the event, and to donate to any of the runners, visit www.endofound.org/tcs-nyc-marathon-2025.
