New York – October 31, 2026 -- Thirty runners on Team ALF will cover 26.2 miles through New York City's five boroughs in the TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 1, raising funds for people affected by liver disease.
The American Liver Foundation (ALF) is an official member of the race's Charity Program for the 2026 event. All money raised goes toward ALF's mission to support those affected by liver disease. The team mixes novice and advanced runners, and most have a personal connection to liver disease.
Team captain runs for the father who survived liver cancer
Matthew Luneburg, captain of the 2026 New York City Marathon Liver Life Challenge Team, is running in honor of his father, who is celebrating 14 years cancer-free from liver cancer. In Memphis, Tennessee, the family endured a yearlong battle with many 2 a.m. ambulance calls before his father received a liver transplant. Luneburg says ALF "served as a beacon of hope" when he was the kid waiting up for his parents to come home.
ALF CEO Lorraine Stiehl pointed to the nearly 100 million people in America affected by some form of liver disease as the reason the team keeps raising awareness and funds.
Transplant recipients and clinicians fill the roster
Several first-time NYC Marathon runners on the team work in transplant care or have lived through liver disease themselves:
- Hannah Fleming was diagnosed with Biliary Atresia, a rare liver disease, and received a liver transplant at eight months old. She is now a liver transplant operating room nurse.
- Megan Dunn has spent four years as a liver transplant and living donor social worker at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Transplant Institute.
- Jennie Cataldo is an Outreach Program Manager for Lahey Hospital Clinic's Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Disease.
- Kelsea Kim was diagnosed with Autoimmune Hepatitis at 21, and later with primary sclerosing cholangitis and ulcerative colitis.
- Kathleen Dorfman runs for her nephew, who received a liver transplant at 10 months old after a Biliary Atresia diagnosis.
- Saylor Smith runs in honor of her mother, who died of cholangiocarcinoma after being diagnosed at 33.
Veteran ALF runners bring Boston and NYC experience
Keith Tully, who has run the Boston Marathon for 13 years with Team ALF, makes his NYC Marathon debut. He was diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis and received a transplant from a living donor.
Steve Nugent, a two-time liver recipient with an autoimmune liver disease, has run Boston on ALF's team for three years. He is running NYC for the first time alongside Sidney Monday, also a first-timer.
David Weston is running his third NYC Marathon on Team ALF and has also run two NYC Half Marathons with the team. He runs in honor of his father, who died of a liver disease, and has been honoring his memory in marathons for over 20 years.