One morning in early April of 2016 Richard Kennedy, affectionately known to friends and family as Ratt, was preparing for his 32nd consecutive running of the 118th Boston Marathon. Ratt was on mile nine of a 23-mile training run when his leg suddenly gave out on him. He walked the nine miles back to his home, refusing rides that were offered from friends along the way. As Ratt walked home, fear and racing thoughts tormented him as he faced the realization about what was inevitably happening.

Ratt grew up in North Quincy, as part of a large Irish Catholic family that included his parents and seven siblings. He graduated from Northeastern University where he earned his degree in physical therapy. Ratt started Kennedy Brothers Physical Therapy, which grew into five centers in the Boston area, with his brother, John, also a physical therapist.

For over 30 years, Ratt provided countless hours treating and counseling ALS patients and their families. Unfortunately, Ratt’s relationship to ALS, known to many as Lou Gehrig’s disease, was also a personal one. In 1989, he lost his father Christopher to ALS at age 65. Seven years later, he lost his youngest brother Jimmy to the disease at age 31.

Ratt became involved in ALS research and became president of The Angel Fund, a nonprofit, volunteer–run organization dedicated to helping to find a cure for ALS. Through his alliance with Dr. Robert Brown, a world-renowned leader in ALS research, and his volunteer work at The Angel Fund, Ratt is bringing us closer than ever to finding a cure for this insidious disease.

One of the hardest parts of living with ALS is losing the ability to do the things you love. Ratt is no longer able to treat patients with ALS, since he himself is one of them. Instead, he spends time with his wife Wendy, and his family, including his four remarkable children, Lindsay, TJ, Taylor and Christian, and numerous friends. His nephew, Russell Becker, is fighting alongside his uncle and is running this year’s Boston Marathon to help us find a cure.

Ratt and Wendy have been leading the fight against ALS for more than 20 years and now more than ever are determined to see a cure, if not for him, then to prevent anyone else having to suffer with ALS. Ratt has run in the Sharon Timlin Memorial Event every year, except for last year when he cheered on family and friends from the sidelines. This year, the 15th anniversary of the event will be held on Saturday, June 16, 2018. “Life throws a lot of things at you,” Ratt Kennedy said, “I’m not going anywhere without a fight.”

From the Hopkinton Independent - April 12, 2018