AGAWAM – A local is gearing up to run her first Boston Marathon to raise funds for patient care at a Boston specialty hospital – all while using her sister, who was killed by a drunken driver, for inspiration.

Leisl Bard grew up in Agawam with her mother, Barbara Bard, father, Todd Bard, younger brother, Elijah Bard, and older sister, Evan Bard.  She graduated from Agawam High School in 2012, and went on to study at Babson College in Wellesley. During her time there, Leisl was a standout soccer player, serving as a team captain her senior year, and broke numerous school records in track.

She was very close with her older sister, she said.

“We had our rough years in high school – she was the cheerleader and I was the soccer player, so we did very different things – but we were close at home,” said the middle sibling. “We started to develop the best friendship toward the end of my senior year of high school. Looking back, I’m glad we had those moments – it was very beneficial and special to me.”

Evan was a 2010 graduate of Agawam High School and a Dean’s List student at Curry College in Milton, where she was a member of the cheerleading squad. She was studying to become a neonatal intensive care unit nurse.

Some of Leisl’s fondest memories of their relationship come from her past sporting events. Evan was always there to cheer Leisl on.

The last time Leisl saw Evan was when she broke three Babson College records in track – in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and the 4x100 relay race. Evan was there as Leisl’s “personal cheerleader,” offering praise and encouragement from the sidelines.

“She was always the picture-perfect older sister. She always looked after me and gave me good advice – she was just really loving and supportive,” said Leisl.

But that all came crashing down on the fatal night of May 11 2013, when Evan and her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Sean Jackman of Stoughton, attended the wedding of a mutual friend. After the wedding, Jackman offered to drive Evan back to Curry College. The pair hopped into his car just before midnight.

Jackman, who struggled with alcohol and pill abuse, was drunk – nearly three times the legal limit. At around 12 a.m., he sped around a dangerous curve in Canton, losing control of his car. He crashed into a wall, then a tree. Evan was killed instantly. She was 20-years-old when she died.

Jackman was sentenced to state prison in September 2014. He was convicted of motor vehicle homicide while under the influence in connection with Evan’s death.

Since then, running has been something that makes Leisl feel closer to her sister, she explained.  

“Not until the end of my collegiate soccer career did I find myself searching for a new reason to train,” she said. “Running gave me a feeling that I have long missed; it gave me the feeling that I was with my sister again.”

While it didn’t necessarily help her cope with her sister’s death, Leisl said she sees her sister’s face every time she feels like giving up – which motivates her to push herself even harder.

On March 17, the former collegiate-athlete ran the 6.2-mile Holyoke St. Patrick’s Day Road Race. Now, she’s running almost every day in preparation for her first Boston Marathon, which is set to take place on Apr. 16.

Leisl will be running the 26-mile race with her boyfriend, Ben Pasquariello, in order to raise funds and awareness for patient care at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, a specialty hospital that focuses on treatments and cures for blindness, deafness, and diseases of the head and neck.

Unlike other marathons, potential Boston Marathon runners have two ways of qualifying for the race – a qualifying time from another marathon or a bid from an approved charity.

The Boston Athletic Association provides invitational entries to the marathon to select non-profit organizations. The organizations use these entries to recruit individual runners who pledge to raise funds for their cause. The organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Organization is a registered 501(c)(3)

• Organization is aligned with the Boston Athletic Associations’ mission and strategic focus areas – Health and Fitness

• Programs benefit the local community

• Organization is not a religious-based or political organization

After a lengthy application process, Mass. Eye and Ear placed a bid for Leisl and her boyfriend.

“A lot of hospitals give out bids to their previous patients – they’re very internally connected. So, we were trying to fit in somewhere, and they [Mass. Eye and Ear] loved our stories,” said Leisl. “It was a perfect fit.”

The couple will be running with Team Eye and Ear, a 67-member group of runners that have vowed to raise money for the hospital. The organization has provided the group with a coach, training tips and other resources.

Leisl set up a CrowdRise page to raise a total of $10,000 for the specialty hospital. So far, she has raised close to $9,000.       She also told Reminder Publications that Evan would have turned 26 this May. With that in mind, Leisl will be running every mile of the race to honor every year her sister’s “beautiful soul has lived.”

“I’m definitely feeling a whole spectrum of emotions. I’m excited and motivated to get to the finish line. A lot of hype is coming and we’re feeling it now with the race being around the corner,” said Leisl. “It’s important because not only am I personally pushing myself and making my body do things most bodies aren’t meant to do, but I’m also raising money for a good cause – you know where the money is going and that it’s going into further research and patient-care.”

On top of raising money for the hospital, Leisl is involved with the non-profit the EvvGirl Foundation – an organization created by her family to honor Evan’s life and support the causes she was passionate about. The foundation’s mission is to stop “avoidable” drunken driving crashes.

For more information about the EvvGirl Foundation, check out their website at www.evvgirl.org.

To donate to Leisl’s CrowdRise page, visit the page here. Her boyfriend Ben Pasquariello's page is linked here.