When I first spoke with Pete Frates' family, his father, John Frates, explained to me that when Pete couldn't fight for himself, others would fight for him.
It's a statement that's never left me. Since his diagnosis over five years ago, Pete Frates went from Boston College baseball alum to ALS patient to activist to legendary icon. His inspiration helped start a movement funding the research now unlocking the secrets of a once-unknown, insidious illness. When he couldn't fight for himself, others picked up the torch. People like his brother Andrew, who followed Boston Herald columnist Steve Buckley and assistant coach Greg Sullivan into the annals of the Boston Marathon.