Connor McCullum comes from a family of runners — a passion that started with his dad, David, when he was just in middle school. While preparing to try out for his school’s cross-country team, David began inviting his own father to come along for his training runs. Soon, both father and son were hooked on the sport. Connor’s grandfather went on to run Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race over 30 consecutive times, and both he and David completed multiple marathons throughout their running careers.

Growing up, Connor was also an avid athlete, but he gravitated toward team sports like basketball and football. But, as an adult, his father’s passion won him over, just as it had for his grandfather many years earlier. Since getting serious about the sport in 2021, Connor has run six marathons, including the TCS New York City Marathon in 2025.

A Devastating Diagnosis, and a New Cause to Run For

Running the TCS New York City Marathon was, by far, the most important race of Connor’s running career — but not just because of the event’s prestigious status. This time, he was running to support research to find effective treatments for ALS at the ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI). It was a cause that had, very recently, become deeply personal for him. A little more than a year before the race, Connor had learned that his dad had been diagnosed with ALS.  This would be difficult news for any family, but David’s central role in fostering the athletic passion of his family made it even more devastating. 

“My dad’s a great athlete,” says Connor.  “He's always deadlifted more than me. He was competitive with me in basketball right up until his diagnosis. When he told me, I was obviously a wreck. In your head, you tell yourself, ‘That's not it. My dad's healthy. There's no statistical way that's it.’ From there, we had a lot of hard conversations about the future, but also about trying to be hopeful.”

Joining the Fight for ALS Research

For Connor, an important part of being hopeful was throwing himself into the fight against the disease. Soon after his father’s diagnosis, his family discovered ALS TDI. Connor says that he was inspired by the organization’s comprehensive scientific approach, as well as their passion for the cause. 

“The personal investment in science stood out to me immediately every time I got in a room or had a call with someone from ALS TDI,” he says. “It was clear that the investment in science is personal for them. I could see there was an investment in making things right for people affected by this disease.”

In a serendipitous moment, Connor learned that ALS TDI was recruiting runners for a TCS New York City Marathon Team on the final day to apply for the program. He immediately knew he had found a perfect way to throw his support behind the cause. It was an opportunity to both enter a race he had always dreamed of running and to honor his father’s ongoing fight against the disease.  

A Runaway Fundraising Success

Connor signed up for a bib and threw himself into training and fundraising. At first, he says that he was nervous about his ability to meet the $5,000 fundraising minimum. However, as he began sharing his efforts, it soon became apparent his family’s story would inspire more generosity than he could have imagined. Far from struggling to meet his minimum requirement, he raised his first $5,000 in just four days. 

His story continued to spread through his community in Nashville, TN, and online through social media, over the following weeks and months. Connor soon raised his goal to $7,500, then $10,000, and then $15,000. A post about his fundraiser went viral on TikTok, bringing in donations from across the country. A men’s group from local churches in Nashville that Connor participates in invited him to speak and encouraged members to support his race. His running coach even offered to waive the fee for all of Connor’s marathon training — insisting that Connor put it toward his fundraiser instead. 

“It's so rewarding to know that so many people immediately were invested in our story,” says Connor. “And running is such a big part of our story. My dad got my grandfather into running, and now we all have this love of the sport, and then I got to run the TCS New York City Marathon for my dad. It’s amazing.”

Running the Race

When all was said and done, Connor raised nearly $17,000 for ALS research. Now, all that was left for him to do was run the race itself. Unfortunately, logistical issues on the day of the race kept him from achieving his goal time. A problem with the buses to the starting line meant that he missed his start time by nearly three hours and ran with a group of runners significantly slower than himself. 

However, he says that the importance of the cause he was running for kept him going through all 26.2 miles, as well as an additional motivating factor waiting for him at the finish. Connor and his wife, Sarah, are expecting their first child, and she had decided to reveal the gender at the finish line. 

“When I got to the finish line, I saw my wife holding an 'it’s a girl' sign,” he says. “I got super emotional. It was the culmination of so many feelings. I was so grateful to everyone who had raised money for ALS TDI. There were the emotions of being a dad, finding out it’s a girl. And then I was thinking about my dad, how it feels like every day we have with him is a blessing. In a strange way, we feel almost blessed by the whole situation. It’s brought us together closer as a family. It’s given us a mission.”

Continuing the Mission to Support ALS Research

Following the success of his marathon fundraiser, Connor has been inspired to find new ways to contribute to ALS research. He’s currently working on putting together an Ales for ALS™ event in Nashville for 2026. He’s also exploring ways to get involved in ALS TDI’s Hoops4ALS program — a perfect fit given the love of basketball he and David also share. 

“ALS advocacy and awareness is our passion now,” he says. “If running is the means to bring more attention to it, we’ll run another race. If it’s going to a basketball game and wearing a t-shirt, we’ll do that. We’re just all in on this cause now. And we’re grateful, because it’s given us so much hope. I’ve come to really believe that we’re going to be able to find cures for ALS, or at least make it a chronic condition, at some point in my lifetime.”

To support Connor’s efforts to raise money for ALS research, click here. 

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