In a First Marathon, Each Mile Dedicated to Someone Special

Coleen Greco has built her endurance this year from a few miles to double-digits, in training for the Boston Marathon, and along the way, gained perspective on running.

The training is important, but it doesn't consume her thoughts that day, the way it used to. Instead, Greco, who is running to raise funds for cancer research and treatment in a team organized through Dana Farber Cancer Institute, thinks about the effort made each day by cancer patients. Last year, she lost her mother, Betty, to cancer just 39 days following the diagnosis.

Each mile in the April 16 marathon is dedicated to someone in particular, Greco said, and she plans to reflect on that person while she completes these blocks of miles. The fact that people have donated is also a motivator.

"My worst run, no matter how hard it is, doesn't compare to their best day with cancer."

Greco, 37, has two small children and arranges her running schedule around them, and family life. The door to the garage in the family's Milford home has a large training schedule. She sees it every time she leaves, a visual reminder of the goal in training for 26.2 miles.

Her greatest challenge, so far, was illness that side-tracked her training for several weeks. But, in retrospect, it also served a purpose in giving her body a break.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Greco said, of the marathon. Her mother had predicted that some day she would run the marathon, but at the time, it was inconceivable to Greco. In a race in which each mile is dedicated to someone special, the last mile is for her mother.