Our Story

Every parent who has a child with cancer wants hope. Hope that there will be a treatment to save their child. Hope that their child will be able to grow up, graduate from high school and live a healthy life. Every child with cancer is looking for hope. Hope that they will be able to go outside and play with their friends rather than spending another day in a hospital bed. Hope that they will finally stop feeling sick.

Hope was why, in October 2009, we sold out our race with over 1,000 people registered to participate in our inaugural Run of Hope for Pediatric Brain Tumor Research. Adults and children joined together to give children suffering from cancer hope that a treatment would be found. Together, we raised over $255,000 to directly support pediatric brain tumor research at Seattle Children’s Hospital. These numbers shattered our expectations for our first year by five-fold, causing us to realize just how important this issue is to so many families in our community.

The success of our first ever race, has prompted us to dedicate ourselves year after year to continue the tradition. Join us!

The proceeds from the Run of Hope will be used to fund groundbreaking research for children with brain tumors and brain cancer here at Seattle Children’s Hospital. The research team here is one of the best in the country at finding new treatments and protocols to help increase survival rates for our children.

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The pediatric brain tumor research laboratory at Children's Hospital in Seattle is one of the top facilities of its kind in the world. Through the passionate efforts of award winning, globally recognized scientists, new treatments are being developed, tested and brought into practice; kids are getting better. But they need help. Government funding is being cut, promising programs are being dropped and researchers are being let go. 100% of your tax deductible donation goes directly to this worthy institution to develop cures for kids with cancer.

Max's Story

Max was only one and a half years old when he first started throwing a ball in the air and catching it – "up ball, up ball... ball, ball, ball." He grew into a talented athlete. Baseball, soccer, basketball; his coaches said he was special. They had no idea. In February of 2004 Max got home from a basketball clinic and threw himself on the floor crying in pain. His head hurt. Things got worse. Eight days later he had brain surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor, medulloblastoma, from the back of his head. He was 8 years old. He needed daily radiation and chemotherapy for six weeks, followed by monthly treatments lasting four days each for six months to rid his body of this aggressive and potentially lethal cancer.

The brain tumor research lab at Children's Hospital, led by Dr. Jim Olson, Dr. Rich Ellenbogen and Dr. Russ Geyer, implemented an investigational study protocol to treat Max's cancer. Because of money raised to fund the ground breaking research at this lab, Max is alive.

Max continues to grow stronger every day and he still loves to play. He inspires everyone with his incredible determination and will. However, the state of the art treatments currently available to kids with cancer are simply not good enough. Surgery, radiation and chemotherapy often leave children with a lifetime of devastating physical and mental disabilities. The research efforts funded by the PBTRF at Children's Hospital are passionately dedicated to changing this.

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It all started with a telegram. Terry Fox, the Canadian hero who made history by running his Marathon of Hope more than half way across the country before his goal was cut short by a resurgence of cancer, was convalescing in his hospital bed in 1981. Isadore Sharp, the Founder of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, was truly inspired by Terry’s efforts. Terry’s story resonated with Mr. Sharp in part because he had lost one of his own sons to cancer just three short years before.

Having already pledged $10,000 to the Marathon of Hope (and challenging 999 other companies to do the same), Mr. Sharp sent Terry a telegram, which Terry promptly pinned to his hospital bed. The telegram read, “The Marathon of Hope has just begun. You started it. We will not rest until your dream to find a cure for cancer is realized. I am asking every Four Seasons hotel to organize… a Terry Fox Marathon of Hope Run.” To date, over $500 million has been raised in the spirit of Terry Fox in over 55 countries around the globe.

We are so committed to this effort, “Advancing Cancer Research” is one of only three corporate values.

"Four Seasons is committed to supporting both local efforts and broader campaigns whose goal is the eradication of cancer. Through the collective efforts of the company's hotels worldwide, Four Seasons annually raises significant funds and awareness for cancer research."

Therefore, it was without question that our first major community outreach effort upon our brand’s return to Seattle would result in establishing a Run of Hope. When investigating potential partners, we were introduced to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Research Guild by Seattle Children’s Hospital. In them, we found excitement, energy and passion for finding innovative ways to beat this terrible disease. We also found inspiring stories of hope in the children this area of research has impacted.

We hope you will join us in carrying on the spirit of Terry Fox, and help us find a cure for our future generations.

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Hope. Care. Cure.

Our Mission

We believe all children have unique needs and should grow up without illness or injury. With the support of the community and through our spirit of inquiry, we will prevent, treat, and eliminate pediatric disease.

Our Vision

We will be the best children's hospital.

• We will provide patients and their families excellent care with compassion and respect
• We will provide superior, accessible, cost-effective service
• We will attract and retain the best talent at all levels of the organization
• We will be one of the top five pediatric research institutions
• We will be the nation's premier pediatric educators
• We will achieve worldwide prominence by integrating patient care, research, education and advocacy

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