April 15, 2013 – “NEVER GIVE UP”

Lauren Lundy

"You must do the thing you think you cannot do." -Eleanor Roosevelt

It was a cool fall morning on the other side of the country in 2011 when I decided I was going to attempt to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I was in California with Team GSF, an amazing group of athletes who race for the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation, to run the Santa Barbara marathon, just six days after running New York City. The Gwendolyn Strong Foundation ( www.thegsf.org) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing global awareness of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (the #1 genetic killer of young children), accelerating research focused on ending this cruel disease, and supporting families impacted by SMA. As we gathered at the start, another GSF runner asked "So, you going for the BQ today?" I laughed and looked at him like he was crazy.

April 21, 2014 - A Day to Run Through the Cramps after Shaking the Winner’s Hand

Juan Martinez

I am an avid runner who normally trains 75 miles per week when not in marathon training phase. I’ve been running consistently for eight years, after seven years of no running while serving in the U.S. Navy. Prior to the Navy, I ran in high school for three years from 1994-1997, seeing lot of the New York City marathon being televised in my backyard, since I am a Jersey kid.

I was always intrigued about racing in a marathon, but I was more intrigued about racing the Boston Marathon. I ran three marathons prior to the 2014 Boston marathon. My debut was the 2010 Suntrust Richmond (Virginia) Marathon. I took 11th place with a time of 2:39:09. That time qualified me for Boston, but not the 2011 race since registration closed out the preceding September. My BQ was good for 2012. Good thing I was not motivated to race the 2012 Boston Marathon, since it was an oven that year!

2011 - A "Once in a Lifetime" father - daughter run

Meaghan Ellis

The Boston Marathon course runs through everything that is special to me in Boston. It runs through Natick, where my mom’s parents live. It runs through Wellesley, where my dad’s parents live and where both of my parents grew up. In Newton it runs through the rowdy stretch of Commonwealth Avenue that is Boston College, my dream college-turned-alma mater. And finally, the course winds right into Copley Square, the center of my favorite city. My dad, aunt and I all ran our first marathon at Boston in 2011 and our entire extended family rallied behind us as we trained through that snowy winter. My cousin Jeff had tragically passed away at age 19 from a brain injury nearly a year to the day earlier, and my dad and aunt ran for Team Spaulding, where Jeff was treated. The cause was deeply personal for my family and added yet another layer of significance to the day.

2009 - A Race in Memory of My Mom...

Katherine Plichta

I ran my first marathon in January 2008, in Disney World of all places. As I was running, I overhead another runner say, "Keep this pace, and we’ll qualify for Boston!" I had never thought about Boston, and I hadn’t been paying attention to my time in the least.

I was just running as fast as I could without running out of steam. I wondered what the qualifying time was, and whether I could actually make it. But I couldn’t think about that now. I needed to finish before I could think.

I was twenty-two miles in, and my legs started feeling heavy.

Another mile and they felt like bricks, as they had during my first twenty-miler. I had gotten through that, though, and I would get through this as well. "If my mom could take on cancer," I thought, "I can finish a marathon." This had become my mantra. Whenever I doubted myself or found myself in a painful situation, I would remember that what I was going through was comparatively a piece of cake. Another mile passed. "Just keep running, Katie. Nothing else matters. Just keep running." The same people kept passing me. They would stop and walk, and then sprint, while I just kept a steady pace. When I saw the finish line, though, I started sprinting. It was a quarter-mile away, but I sprinted the whole way in. I saw my mom on the sidelines, grinning from ear to ear and holding a sign that said, "Go, Katie, Go!"