Yasir Salem is a man on a mission. Starting with the NYC marathon in 2018, Yasir ran 50 marathons in 50 states, ending with the NYC marathon in 2019. He took on this enormous feat to honor and celebrate his late wife Gweneviere. In running the races, he raised money for the Gweneviere Mann Foundation (GMF) to spread awareness and fund early detection of lung cancer and brain tumor programs.
While the “50 in 50” initiative may be new, distance running has been an important part of life for both Yasir and Gwen since 2008. After Gwen recovered from a meningioma brain tumor and the short-term memory loss that occurred after her craniotomy, she and Yasir began running together. Gwen completed seven New York City marathons and the Harrisburg marathon.
The 50 in 50 campaign is over, but we're still fundraise and award grants yearly to support the early detection of lung cancer and brain tumors. Here’s how you can support our mission
Be a Charity Runner for the NYC Marathon: GMF is an official charity partner for the NYC marathon. Contact us at yasir@gwenmann.org to fundraise for us.