Team IMPACT: Meet Josh Mercado

The 123rd Boston Marathon commences on Monday, April 15th, and IMPACT Melanoma is once again proud to present Team IMPACT, which is comprised of a dedicated group of runners that come from different backgrounds and levels of running experience. Each of our runners share a passion for our cause – which is to spread awareness and prevention initiatives with regard to the incidences of melanoma around the United States, and, with our lead, the word.

Many of Team IMPACT’s members are survivors, family members of survivors, or a person who has lost a loved one to melanoma. Together, along with our partnership with the Boston Athletic Association, we’ve been able to make great IMPACT over the years raising in excess of $2 million, which has gone to directly benefit IMPACT Melanoma’s mission of prevention, education, support and advocacy in the fight against melanoma.

As mentioned, each of our team members have unique reasons as to why they’re contributing efforts to Team IMPACT, and, as such, we’re highlighting a handful of them in support of their run, and their campaign to raise necessary funds.

With that in mind, please join us in welcoming and thanking, Josh Mercado!

IMPACT Melanoma: How’d you learn about IMPACT Melanoma and Team IMPACT?

Josh Mercado: This past year my mom was diagnosed with two different kinds of cancer within 6 months of each other. Running the marathon had always been a distant dream of mine, but after that I knew that I had to do something, so I looked into Boston Marathon charities with missions that were close to my family’s heart and IMPACT Melanoma stood out.

IM: What made you decide to get involved and commit to a spot on the team? What does said spot mean to you?

Mercado: Like I said, after my mom’s cancer diagnoses, I knew I had to do something. I looked into several charities to run the Boston Marathon with, but IMPACT Melanoma’s specific mission statement was something that I felt very strongly about. With some charities, sometimes you’re not exactly sure what your funds are going towards or how exactly they help. IMPACT Melanoma works through Awareness and Education. My family was thoroughly blindsided because of how little we knew about skin cancer. It’s something that most people know a little about, but hardly take seriously. I am so excited that my fundraising efforts will serve two purposes: to support Team IMPACT’s programs financially, while also raising awareness amongst our friends and family. When Team IMPACT called and offered me a spot, I was immediately speechless. I think I stammered out, “Thank you!” about 10 times before finally putting together a single coherent thought. I finally had the chance to do something and that meant the world to me.

IM: How many marathons have you run in the past? What do you take away from these experiences?

Mercado: Boston will be my first! This has actually been a year of firsts: First trail race in June, first 10k in June, first half marathon in October, and now my first marathon. Prior to March, I had never run further than 5 miles. I think that my progression through race distances is a testament to the athletic potential that every person has. All it took was consistency. Showing up every day to better yourself somehow, whether it was running a little faster or stretching a little further. Anyone can do little things to better themselves and those little things add up.

IM: I know it’s hard to predict, but how do you think this particular run will stack up (from a philosophical/humanitarian/or just straight physical point of view)?

Mercado: This will definitely be the hardest thing I’ve done, physically. From a mental perspective, I expect this to be the easiest and most enjoyable thing that I’ll ever do. The Boston Marathon is special. Every runner knows that. The first marathon I watched while at Boston College was in 2014, the year after the bombing. The emotion of seeing an entire city show up for those that had been affected was overwhelming. Nothing beats seeing a struggling runner on Heartbreak Hill hear the thousands of cheers along Mile 21 and watch their pained face transform into an ear to ear smile. This year’s marathon will be the most special one for me specifically because I’m running for something greater than myself. I’m running for people who can’t, people who are hurting, people who need help. But most importantly, I’m running for my mom. She’s the reason that I am who I am today. I’ll never forget when she told me that she had cancer. I was speechless. I didn’t know what to say or how to react. Before I could say anything, she immediately asked, “are you okay?” as if somehow I was the one suffering. That’s my mom, always putting others before herself. Always. This race is my opportunity to do something for her. To show her how important she is and to thank her for being who she is. That’s why I think April 15th will be a piece of cake.

IM: What is your personal stance / battle cry with regard to skin cancer and taking care of one’s skin?

Mercado: My parents were both born in the Philippines, so our family has naturally had darker skin. I never understood why other kids had to worry about sunburns, but I also never questioned it. So we never bothered with sunscreen and never even thought about skin cancer. My personal battle cry with regard to skin cancer is to take it seriously. Putting on sunscreen is the easiest thing in the world and yet, so many people don’t do it. Sometimes melanoma treatment is getting what looks like a mole removed. Sometimes it’s amputating a thumb, like in the case of my mom. The worst part about melanoma, in my opinion, is how easily preventable it is.

IM: What’s your pre-race ritual? Some sort of specific cuisine the night before? Specific stretching routine? Special socks? You tell us!

Mercado: My pre-race ritual actually starts two nights before race day. I’m usually always too excited to fall asleep the night before a big race (I can only imagine how excited I’ll be on April 14th), so it’s important that I make up for that the night before. The entire day before follows the K.I.S.S. philosophy: Keep It Simple, Stupid. I try and keep the step counter as low as possible. I’m a big movie buff, so I’ll usually watch one or two to relax. Eating food is a lot easier when you actually like it, but so as long as it’s not something too rough on the digestive system, it’s fair game for me.

Race day morning is all about getting focused. I always feel bad whenever anyone tries to talk to me before a race because I’m doing everything I can do zone everything out. I’ll wear my noise cancelling headphones as much as possible between waking up and walking over to the start line. Music can range from soft and steady folk to hard and heavy hip hop. I play whatever my mood wants that morning, but it’s mostly about zoning out any distractions. I try and run for about 15-20 minutes for a warmup in as many layers as I can. Once I’ve started to really sweat, that’s when I know I’m ready to go. There’s usually a good amount of time between lining up and the actual gun start, so I try and keep myself warm in the crowded corrals either by doing leg swings or just plain jumping up and down. At this point the adrenaline is fully pumping and I’m ready to go.

To get involved and make a donation:

Visit Josh’s runner profile here to help him reach his personal goal: www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/impact-melanoma-boston-2019/joshmercado

Visit our Team IMPACT profile page here: www.crowdrise.com/o/en/team/impact-melanoma-boston-2019