Runner Credits Friend for Her Second Marathon Run

According to the official Boston Marathon website, 22 people from Westborough have registered to run in the 2011 Boston Marathon. For the days leading up to the marathon, we will feature our Westborough marathoners and encourage you to cheer each of them to the finish line!

Name: Rosalind Arneth

Age: 41

Marathon experience: Rosalind ran her first marathon in October, the Amica Marathon in Rhode Island. “I’m still new at this,” she said. After training for the Amica Marathon last year, Rosalind started thinking about the Boston Marathon. “I’m excited that Boston is not my first marathon. I was a wreck at my first one, and I’m really looking forward to just enjoying the whole experience," she said.

Reason for running: “Was the Boston Marathon a goal of mine? It was a goal in the back of my head to run a marathon, period,” Rosalind laughed. She credits friend and Westborough runner Julie Merritt with encouraging her to run a second marathon. “At mile 16 of the Amica Marathon, I texted my husband and told him I was never doing this again! I told him I was out of my mind for taking something like this on. Julie told me not to close that chapter yet, and a few weeks later I had gotten the marathon ‘bug.’ I wanted to do another one,” she said.  

Training tip: Rosalind has been self-training for this run. “I am running my long runs on the weekends,” she said, adding that she ran 21 miles and 14 miles this past weekend. “I’m not very good at following plans. There are no regimens that I am following. This works for me.” She said she followed a program through Boston Fit for her first marathon and is generally following a similar routine as she prepares for April 18. When asked what advice she has for anyone considering a marathon, Rosalind said, “Believe in yourself. Everyone starts at ground zero at some point in life."