Most Dukies would be winded after sprinting to class, but for a handful of Duke students and administrators participating in the upcoming Boston Marathon, it takes a bit more.
Sophomores Lindsay Cooper and Breanna Gawrys, both members of the Duke Roadrunners Club, and Leslie Barnes, director of the student athlete development program, will be running in the event with 20,000 other participants Monday.
The annual race, held on Patriots' Day, begins in Hopkinton, Mass., and covers a distance of 26 miles.
Prior to registering for the Boston Marathon, all participants were required to qualify by running another marathon within a time limit set according to the runner's age and gender.
And although prizes are given to those who are among the first to cross the finish line, Barnes and Gawrys said they are running the race for much more than the distant hope of an award.
Barnes, for one, is aiming to raise money for cancer research in memory of Rod Myers, the former Duke men's head golf coach who passed away March 31.
"[When I ran my qualifying marathon,] it was a time when our late golf coach was going through his sickness," Barnes said. "He was so dedicated to tradition, I think [the Boston Marathon is] such a traditionally important race he would value."
Gawrys said running the marathon was something she always wished to do, but never expected to accomplish before joining the Roadrunners club her freshman year.
"You do things you would never expect yourself to be able to do," Gawrys said.
All three of the participants from Duke said their decision to hit the pavement Monday has required extensive training-especially in the weeks leading up to race day.
"I did a lot a lot of running, even somewhere between 60 and 80 miles a week," Gawrys said.
Training for a marathon can take between 12 and 24 weeks depending on how physically fit a person is to begin with, Barnes said.
"If there is a day when you have 20 other things going on, that means you have to get up that much earlier to fit in a run," she explained.
Despite the hard work, though, Barnes said she could not pass up the chance to head up north to run one of the nation's most famous marathons.
"I figured if you qualify, you've got to take advantage of that because it may never happen again," Barnes said. "Anyone who sets their mind to it and wants to do a goal like this can do it. Everyone has to start their first mile somewhere."
Senior Colleen Lynch, who ran the marathon last year, said one of the most motivating things about the race is the history surrounding it.
"It's a really big honor to be there," Lynch said. "It has been around for over a hundred years."
Lynch, however, will not be competing in the Boston Marathon this year because of an earlier injury she suffered.
"I'm sad that I can't do it this year, but I'll definitely be back next year," she said. "There is no feeling that compares to crossing the finish line of a marathon."
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