2011 - "The sheer exhilaration I felt at the finish line will never be topped"

Amy Cole

Running, for the longest time, was a casual thing for me: a hobby really, and nothing I thought would ever amount to much in my life. Certainly not something that would eventually lead me to a great city in the Northeast where accomplished runners gather every year for the most celebrated marathon in the world.

My Boston journey began back in 2009. Actually, if you want to go back even further, my running career began back in 2002 with my first 5Ks after a few months of goofing around on treadmills at the gym.

I built up stamina enough to run the local Komen Race for the Cure and actually got a finisher’s medal which was awarded to the first 400 finishers (our race is usually 40,000 strong). Once they put that medal around my neck at the finish line – and I managed to NOT throw up on the volunteer - I was HOOKED. This ‘exercise’ thing was a new venture for me, having spent much of my life as a couch potato (albeit a skinny one).