BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Twin brothers Daniel and Matt Murray of Buffalo are preparing to take on three marathons together to raise awareness and funds for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a condition Matt has lived with his entire life.
The brothers are set to run the Buffalo Marathon first, followed by the Chicago Marathon in October, and possibly the New York City Marathon. The journey comes after 12 months of training, including long morning and evening sessions with coaches at PACE Buffalo.
"We had to start this off in Buffalo with a bunch of family and friends cheering us on, so that'd be awesome to see all the support," Matt Murray said.
Daniel, a Buffalo firefighter, will push Matt in a race chair during each marathon. The brothers recently secured the chair through fundraising, and it is expected to arrive just in time for the Buffalo Marathon.
WATCH: Twin brothers from Buffalo take on marathons to raise awareness for Duchenne muscular dystrophy
The fundraising effort continues, with a minimum goal of $2,500 for their spot in the Chicago Marathon.
"Minimum fundraising goal for our spot in Chicago is $2,500, so that's our new goal," Daniel Murray said. "We really focused this winter on getting Matt his chair and the accommodations he needed so far in terms of gear, the chair, everything he needs to get through the race was our goal. Now we're moving on to the next step."
The brothers have leaned on the coaching staff at Buffalo Run Club throughout their training.
"It's been a lot, but we've been pushing him through it," Kathleen Granchelli, founder and coach of BFLO Run Club, said. "We have a lot of experienced coaches who've run multiple fulls and halves, so we kind of understand how grueling it can be, but we've given them all of our expertise and to keep pushing him along."
Daniel said the training has been comprehensive and demanding.
"In terms of training for myself, we've had many strength conditioning classes incorporated in my training block with Kathleen and all the coaches here," Daniel said.
For the Murray brothers, the marathon series carries a deeper personal meaning. The last time they competed together athletically was in 2015, when Matt retired from sled hockey.
"That was kind of the last thing we did together. So this will be kind of like the first thing, since then, that we've kind of athletic-wise that we've done together," Matt Murray said.
A link to the Miles for Matty GoFundMe page and more information is available here.
