When Andrew Kaczynski started the marathon from Hopkinton to Boston on Monday, he knew he would feel the spirit with his daughter Francesca.

Boston is where the CNN reporter and his wife, Wall Street Journal reporter Rachel Ensign, moved when their 6-month-old daughter was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive brain tumor .

They wanted to give her "the best chance" at Boston Children's Hospital.

It was in Boston that Francesca, who was nicknamed "Peas", "Peas" and "Peas" by his parents, stole the hearts of nurses and doctors with her smile. During her treatment, her parents took her for a walk along the Charles River.

They read her "Make Way for the Ducklings" and took her to see the statue of the wild duck family in the public garden.

"She is so happy," Kaczynski told the Boston website. "She's just the happiest baby. It's hard to find that she doesn't laugh."

Francesca passed away on December 24, 2020. She is only 9 months old.

Since Francesca's death, Kaczynski and Ensign, senior editors and founding members of CNN Kfile, have been committed to raising awareness of pediatric cancer and raising funds to commemorate her research.

In the days after her death, donations poured in to support their efforts, Team Beans, and since then, the couple has raised more than 1.3 million US dollars. The funds will be used to establish a new program, the Team Beans Infant Brain Tumor Fund, which will support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Infant Brain Tumor Program.

Thank you everyone, your comments touched our hearts. We are very grateful for how much money has been raised for Dana Farber in the name of Francesca to fight this terrible disease. We will spend the rest of our lives in finding a cure. https://t.co/IhaNQp13Os

The couple were raising funds for the Pan-Mass Challenge to support the new plan, when Kaczynski decided that he would host the 2021 Boston Marathon for Team Beans to support Dana-Farber and Boston Children's Hospital.

For the competition, he collected the names of other young cancer fighters and put on the back of his Team Beans T-shirt. Every mile of his race was dedicated to a child with a name on his shirt.

When he called on parents to share their children's stories with him so that he could include them in his campaign, he received more than 200 submissions.

"I feel overwhelmed by this reaction," he said.

Why should I run the Boston Marathon to benefit Dana Farber/Boston Children's Hospital? Because my child died of cancer, there is a child like her every day. https://t.co/jT5gS0gKvk

Before the marathon, Team Beans had raised thousands of dollars by selling these shirts, and Kaczynski had shared the stories of these young patients with his thousands of fans on Twitter.

"I run marathons not only for Francesca, but also for all the other kids," he said.

Ollie. At 9 months, he was diagnosed with metastatic ATRT with spread of pia mater. I turned 3 in July and is now fighting a third relapse. Live every day with strong spirit and determination. Admired by his amazing parents and many people who love him from afar. pic.twitter.com/OHPqrJOSPH

Kaczynski said he knows that if the game becomes difficult, considering these names will help him win Monday's game.

"Francisca died of cancer," he said. "In the United States, every day there is a child like her. Having another child, another parent or another family gets a terrible diagnosis, and when this happens, their lives will be broken forever. It is absolutely Broken. Not everyone's story can be told like Francesca."

He said that many times, families whose lives are affected by childhood cancer just want to be seen.

This is why he will share as many stories as possible.

"We just want to be seen and recognized that we are real people, and our children are real people," Kaczynski said. "And don't just push childhood cancer into this box of terrible things that happen to others but not to me. That's part of the reason why I try to keep it at the forefront."

He said that if you do not share and promote the reality and experience of families exposed to childhood cancer, you will lose more funds, better legislation and a higher awareness of the disease.

He said that because childhood cancer usually makes people feel uncomfortable, they will stay away from it.

"There will be people who want to support you, but they will say,'I can't imagine your pain,'" Kaczynski said. "For many people who have given birth, when they hear something like this, what they really hear is,'I don't want to imagine your pain.' Because when you hear someone say,'I can't imagine'-you I was imagining it at the time. It’s too scary, you don’t want to. People don’t say such things as cruel or similar. People try to sympathize with you. But it can also be so isolated. Faced with such horrible things, you want to Push it away and imagine it as something impossible to happen to you."

But it can happen to anyone, he said. Random episodes of childhood cancer.

"This is also part of the reason why I think we need to do more so that if it really happens to you, there are better solutions and treatments," he said.

Kaczynski emphasized that his goal is not just to raise funds. He and the second lieutenant hope to raise awareness of the "extreme" underfunding of childhood cancer.

"I want people to know that we can't do this, unless we have money, we can't find a cure," he said. "And it doesn't come from the private sector, so we have to come forward."

He said that since fewer patients are diagnosed with pediatric cancer each year compared with other types of cancer, the financial incentives for pharmaceutical companies to invest in research and drug development are not so great. At the same time, according to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, only about 4% of the government's annual cancer research funds are dedicated to childhood cancer.

He said this is why it is so important for families to raise funds for research.

This is why the support he and the ensign means to them the whole world.

"The support we have and will continue to receive gives me great hope," he said. "I am full of hope because the treatment is progressing. Although it is difficult because of Francesca's death, I also have some hope because I know that our funds will help advance these treatments, especially at Dana Farber. Brain cancer in young children."

This is the legacy he wants to build for Francesca, knowing that she has no chance to create her own. 

"Francesca is a real person, and she will always be a child to me," he said. "Her life must be important, and I want to make sure it is important-this is part of the legacy I hope she will leave, that she will leave her Dana Farber fund... and can help fund brain tumor research, Even if it's just an increase, to achieve better results for other children. This will be such a powerful legacy for her."

Kaczynski and Ensign returned to Boston in August. This was their first visit since Francesca's death. They raised funds at Fenway Park with Jimmy Foundation Radio-Telethon. During the trip, Kaczynski went for a run, trekking from Fenway through the emerald necklace to the Jamaican pond.

Training for the marathon, Kaczynski said that running had a healing effect on his sadness. He said that this helps a lot emotionally.

Although the Boston Marathon was his first ever race, a few days before the race, reporters said he was full of confidence. He always wears a Team Beans T-shirt when he runs.

Whenever he encountered difficulties, he would think of Francesca and the other names on his back to get through it.

It was during the race through Boston in August that he felt something different, and he imagined what he might experience in the 26.2 mile race on Monday.

"For the first time in a long time, I felt Francesca's existence in a very strong way," Kaczynski said. "This is really an experience for me. I can really feel her spirit. I only know that I will go to the marathon with her and pass through many monuments and areas in Boston. I will really feel her Spiritual. I became emotional, I just became emotional when I talked about it."

He knows that this game will be emotionally difficult, but it will also be rewarding.

"This city is so good to us, we have raised a lot of money," he said. "It means a lot to me to be able to do something for [Francisca's] legacy and help her raise funds for her Dana Farber fund. We have great support from many people in Boston and around the world."

You can support Kaczynski's Boston Marathon fundraiser here, or you can buy Team Bean T-shirts here.

Hello everyone, we will release the Team Beans of the Boston Marathon long-sleeved shirt before October 11th (marathon date). This is the same shirt, with everyone's name printed on the back, just autumn long sleeves. https://t.co/3sA5CJYKg8 pic.twitter.com/LOW6zhh16o

Stay up to date with all the latest news from Boston.com

©2021 Boston Global Media Partners LLC

Know everything about Boston at any time. Receive the latest news and major updates directly from our newsroom to your inbox.