A Time for Heroes

October 29, 2026

This October, the city’s thoroughfares filled with 55,000 determined athletes who took on the 2026 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Among them ran a record 586 Mercy Home Heroes, each of them representing our home and raising support for our work with young people. The title of Hero is well-deserved by each of our runners, who spent the past six months or more training and fundraising. 

After tackling 16 miles of Chicago streetscape, Heroes entered their most anticipated section of the route: the lively corridor along Jackson Boulevard that runs past Mercy Home’s Old Oak Door, a.k.a. The Mercy Mile.  

Family members and friends, West Loop neighbors, and Mercy Home supporters lined the block to give their Heroes a rousing welcome, waving signs and pom-poms and handing out high-fives. Tireless volunteers from local high school cross country teams raced alongside every Hero they could spot, dark green Mercy Home Heroes banners fluttering behind them. And the festive spirit of the cheer zone gave our Heroes a needed boost to forge ahead and conquer the final 10 miles.  

But our runners earned more than just one hero’s welcome for all of their hard work and generosity to our Home. When they arrived back at the official “Heroes Headquarters,” inside DePaul University’s student center, they were thanked and celebrated by coworkers, volunteers, and loved ones before enjoying refreshments and complimentary massages from our friends at Revolution Physical Therapy.

Heroes HQ was the last in a series of race weekend events that included another favorite tradition, the annual Friday night pasta dinner. Held in our indoor soccer building, the event provides runners and their families the opportunity to come together, enjoy a delicious Italian dinner, and fuel up physically and spiritually for the road ahead. Over 350 attendees enjoyed a delicious feast prepared by our dear friends John and Janet Nitti and their team.

The evening began with a welcome from Mercy Home Heroes Manager Mary Connolly, as well as a taped welcome from Fr. Scott Donahue, who was celebrating a wedding this weekend and unable to greet guests in person. Fr. Scott thanked our Heroes for their commitment to Mercy Home’s mission and provided encouragement for our runners. 

After dinner, our Heroes heard from our featured youth speaker, Xailani, who shared the positive ways Mercy Home has impacted her life.

“I knew that [Mercy Home] was the best place for me to work on my goals and get things back on track,” she said.

That included raising her grades to As and Bs and improving her relationships.

“I like a lot of things about Mercy Home, but the best part is having the opportunity to work on yourself and meet new people,” she said. “So much has changed for the better in my life since coming here. I’m a different me because of Mercy Home, and I am really grateful for that.”

After Xailani’s speech, Connolly recognized our “Super Heroes,” the top 10 fundraisers, for their efforts. This year’s top fundraiser is Kelly Radandt, who raised $20,750 for our young people. 

Because many of our Heroes fundraise in teams, Connolly also recognized our top fundraising teams. Our top team, Bad Johnny’s Good Runners, raised $54,967.56 for our Home. Other top teams included Live Fit Army, Morgan Stanley, CGD Running Club, and Team Goetzmann. We are incredibly grateful for the dedication of all our teams, and together they make a big difference in the lives of our kids. 

The Executive Director of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Carey Pinkowski, also stopped by the dinner to congratulate and inspire our team, offering advice and encouragement to help them succeed on Sunday. We are, as always, incredibly honored that Pinkowski takes time out of his busy schedule marathon weekend to visit our pre-race event.

Connolly closed out the night with tips to help our runners have a successful marathon weekend, reminding them about rest and hydration, particularly in the heat of marathon day, before sending them on their way with gratitude. 

On Sunday, our tireless thousands rose before the sunrise to finally take on the challenge they spent so much time and energy preparing for. During their 26.2-mile trek through the city, our Heroes were cheered on by throngs of spectators, including their most loyal fans at the Mercy Mile. We are always thrilled to welcome so many friends to our Home to join us in encouraging our Heroes who do so much for our young people.

Thank you to members of Mercy Home’s boards who ran for our Heroes team this year: Ambassadors of Mercy Pat Zamkin, who completed his 11th marathon this year for Mercy Home, Bill Pragalz, and Jim Marek, along with Associate Board member Peter Marsh. Marek was our third highest fundraiser this year, raising $7,710 for our young people. 

Another thank you to all our coworkers who worked long hours to make sure that our Heroes HQ, Mercy Mile, and Pasta Dinner were unforgettable experiences for our runners. And to two coworkers who ran the marathon, Debbie Watrous and Edgar Zavala.

Finally, mille grazie to John and Janet Nitti for feeding our runners and their loved ones with another exceptional meal at our pasta dinner, and to the Cimaglio family for providing wine for that event.