Gymnast Runs Her First Boston Marathon

Name: Jeannette Naimoli 

Age: 27 

Marathon Experience: Jeannette has never run a marathon. She has run numerous 3 and 5 milers and did a half marathon last year. “I totally loved it,” she said. “I have always wanted to do a marathon.”

Reason for Running: “A marathon has been on my bucket list for many years,” she said. She applied to be part of Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. When she got a call at the end of October saying she made the team, “It was like being accepted to my top college,” she said. To date she has raised over $6,200 for her cause.

Training Tips: Jeannette, a trained gymnast, starting training for the Boston Marathon in December. Each Saturday, she joins her Team in Training teammates for a run. “It is so much easier to run with other people,” she said, adding that she finds a 5 to 20 miles run with a team easier than a 40 minute solo workout at the gym. Her advice to other runners is, “Don’t run every day, all day. Run two to three times a week outside of your long run.” She also stressed the importance of cross training to work all of the muscle groups.