Why I Run
by Tom O'Keefe
On January 10, 2024, Tom O’Keefe received a life-saving kidney transplant from his Stride for Stride teammate, Jorge Rosales. Ten months later, on November 3, 2024, Tom and Jorge ran the New York City Marathon together—the first time a kidney donor and recipient has ever run the NYC Marathon together.
On April 21, 2025, Tom and Jorge ran the Boston Marathon together—another first.
On October 12 2025, Tom ran the Chicago Marathon, followed by the London Marathon on April 26 2026. Tom is now only two marathons away—Berlin and Tokyo—from becoming the first kidney transplant recipient from the United States and the Americas to run all six of the World Marathon Majors.
Why I Run is Tom’s memoir on how running and life has taken on new meaning since being given a second chance at life.
Purchase Why I Run by Tom O'Keefe
New Year’s Day 2024
It was only two hours into 2024 and I had already vomited a few times, and it had nothing to do with New Year’s Eve celebrations.
My kidney transplant was just ten days away, and up until this weekend I had very little symptoms or side effects of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD), other than extreme fatigue. I just ran the B.A.A. Half Marathon in November with a GFR of 10, and I went on 5 mile walks every day in December. However, on New Year’s Day my luck was starting to change.
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An Extremely Rare Accomplishment
I’ve scoured the internet trying to find another example of a kidney donor and his/her recipient running a marathon together. I couldn’t find any previous occurrence in the United States. Never had it previously happened in the NYC Marathon, the Boston Marathon, the Chicago Marathon or any other World Marathon Major. The only other occurrence throughout the world, in which a kidney recipient ran a marathon with his donor, was a year earlier (2023) in Israel.
What Jorge and I accomplished is extremely rare, and it will not be our last marathon together.
Additionally, as far as I've been able to discover, no other kidney recipient has ever run a marathon within ten months of their transplant. I went into my transplant in tremendous shape, which allowed me to recover quickly—quick enough to become the first kidney recipient to run a marathon so soon after surgery.
I didn’t run NYC to be the first. I ran because running is my recovery, both physically and mentally. Running is social, and solitary. Running is fun, and exhausting. Running can be joyful and awful at the same time. Running pushes the limits of what you thought your body was capable of. Running leaves you in
awe, and in pain.
Boston Marathon - April 21, 2025
The 2025 Boston Marathon is our second marathon running side by side as a kidney donor and kidney recipient. If running one marathon together was a rare accomplishment, then running a second is a first of its kind. Like the 2024 NYC Marathon, the 2025 Boston Marathon will be the first time a kidney donor and kidney recipient run from Hopkinton to Boylston Street together. Today is that day—Marathon Monday.
Tom O'Keefe
Tom O’Keefe is the founder of Stride for Stride, and the former founder of: Heart to Cart, Bostontweet, Flutter, Research Connect, and WiredAlumni.
Tom is the author of Why I Run, his autobiography about receiving a kidney transplant on January 10, 2024, and then running the Brooklyn Half Marathon four months later, and the New York City Marathon ten months post kidney transplant.
Within one year and nine months of his kidney transplant, Tom ran and finished the three US-based Abbott World Marathon Majors. Tom's goal is to complete all six Abbott World Marathon Majors (London, Berlin, Tokyo, NYC, Boston, Chicago) and become the first kidney transplant recipient from the Americas to receive Six Stars.
I run to give hope to kidney patients waiting for a life-saving kidney donation. I run to show kidney recipients that you can do hard things. I run marathons to show 50-somethings that you’re not too old to run marathons.
Read more about why I run and my personal story in my book, Why I Run.
Tom is based in Brookline, Massachusetts.