SALEM — This is a marathon story and a Christmas story, and what better day to tell it than today?
It begins 16 months ago with a phone call on Christmas Eve 2008. It was early in the morning, and Michael Cocozella and his wife, Kathy, were asleep in their home in Witchcraft Heights. On the line was a doctor from Salem Hospital calling to tell Mike he had colon cancer.
"It woke me out of a sleep," said Mike, 51. "It was just complete shock."
Not wanting to ruin Christmas, Mike, an aircraft engine mechanic at GE, and his wife, an administrative assistant at Salem Hospital, decided to keep the news a secret from their two sons and the rest of their family for at least a few days.
"When we told them, we wanted to have answers," Mike said.
A few weeks after Christmas, the Cocozellas sat down with Chris, now 22, and Matthew, 15, to break the news.
"I got about three words out, and that was it for me," Mike said.
Over the course of last year, as his father went through radiation, chemotherapy and surgery to remove a tumor that had advanced to Stage 3 before shrinking, Chris decided to do something to support his dad. In September, just before his father's last chemo treatment — which was the day of his parents' 25th wedding anniversary — he applied to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to run in the Boston Marathon.
Dana-Farber gets hundreds of applications and accepts only a select number based on the individual's reason for running. Chris, who had never run more than 10 miles, was accepted.
The Salem State College junior kept the news a secret, telling only his mother at Thanksgiving. She already had a lot to be thankful for, learning weeks earlier that her husband, following surgery and months of treatments, was cancer-free.
This past Christmas, Chris decided to break with a family tradition. Instead of giving his father a present at home, he asked his dad if he would mind waiting until the whole family had gathered at an aunt's home in Medfield. That day, after all the other presents had been opened, Chris handed his father a box.
Inside was a pair of old running shoes — in Chris' size — and a note.
Sitting on a couch next to his son, Mike tried to read the message aloud but managed only a few words before tears started rolling down his face. He handed the card to his brother.
"Dad," it began. "You've had a long, tough year, and you've met it head on every step of the way. Now it's my turn. As a tribute to your victory over cancer, I will be running in the 2010 Boston Marathon in your honor as part of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team to raise money for cancer research. Merry Christmas and many more. Love, Chris."
By this point, everyone was crying.
And so today, Chris Cocozella, a former Salem High track sprinter, will attempt to run 26 miles to honor a father he feared he might lose to cancer. His father, mother and other family members will be waiting at the finish line — no matter how long it takes.
"I've run my share of races before, but this is a different circumstance," Chris said. "There's a lot more heart" in this run.
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