Margot LaFreniere (with daughter Sophie)

Leading up to the April 18 Boston Marathon, the Independent will profile local charity runners. This issue we highlight Margot LaFreniere, who is running to raise funds for Sophie’s Hope Foundation.

The Hopkinton-based charity was started by LaFreniere and her husband, James LaFreniere, after their daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with glycogen storage disease in September of 2019 at the age of 2.

“Sophie’s Hope Foundation is on a mission to develop new treatments and ultimately a cure for glycogen storage disease Type 1b,” LaFreniere writes on her fundraising page (givengain.com/cc/sophieshope2022bostonmarathon). “GSD1b is a life-threatening ultra-rare genetic disease that has no existing FDA approved treatments. We are on a mission to change that.”

This marks the first marathon for LaFreniere, who lives less than 2 miles from the start line.

“We have said that nothing will stop us from finding a cure for Sophie, and we will do what it takes,” she writes.