Portsmouth Runner Will Race in Her 17th Boston Marathon

Janet Parkinson is very proud of the fact that she will be running in her 17th consecutive Boston Marathon later today, but she won't be satisfied until she races in her 20th marathon three years from now.

"I plan to stop at 20. That's my plan, but never say never," said Parkinson, who also coaches cross country at Portsmouth Middle School in the fall and track at Greenland Central School.

The Portsmouth woman has run in more than 30 marathons over the last 24 years and looks forward to every opportunity she gets to run, run, and run ever since she first discovered how much she loved the sport.

"I get a lot out of running. I put a lot into it, but I get a lot out of it," she said. "Most of my good friends are runners."

Parkinson, who is the wife of Portsmouth Public Works Director Steve Parkinson, said she was working out at a city athletic club when one day the aerobics instructor for a class she was taking didn't show up. She decided to go for a run at 7 in the morning and never looked back.

"it's an easy way to get a workout and you can do it any time, anywhere," said Parkinson.

Parkinson said she usually runs to the bank, the supermarket or the Music Hall to buy tickets for an upcoming show. She said she will never forget what it was like to run in her first Boston Marathon in 1996.

"It was probably my best Boston," said Parkinson, who added that it was also the 100th anniversary of the event. "I was just so excited to be there that I literally flew up the hills."

She recalled that she finished the Boston Marathon that year with a time of 3:35 and found that the infamous Heartbreak Hill was not that bad. In 2011, Parkinson finished the marathon at 4:03.

Her training regimen to prepare for the big race is the same each year, she said. It usually begins in January with daily runs so she can build up to doing up to 20 miles per run to the point where she can achieve 40- to 50- miles per week.

To run a marathon, Parkinson said one has to be really dedicated and they have to be willing to train hard in the winter.

Parkinson often runs from Portsmouth to Rye to North Hampton on secondary roads. "The New Castle loop is great to get a long run in," she said.

When Parkinson talks about how she runs the Boston Marathon each year, she is truly a seasoned veteran.

"I don't get into the crowds that much," she said. "I usually keep my head down and I look up to see where's that next mile marker."

She often looks up to see the Citgo sign near Fenway Park. As it gets bigger and bigger, she can tell she is getting closer to the finish line.

"I hate the day before," said Parkinson about the Sunday before the marathon takes place. She and some of her friends who are also running in the race will get together with their spouses at Cafe Meditteraneo to eat lots of pasta and fuel up on carbs. They will board a bus bound for Boston early Monday morning and Parkinson said many of them will wear layers of old clothes over their shorts and tank tops.

When runners start the race, it is typically cold and as the temperatures warm up runners shed their clothes and throw them to the crowd, which Parkinson said always generates some excitement for spectators.

Her son, Jordan, a Junior at Bentley College in Waltham, Mass., will often jump in the race at Heartbreak Hill, which is located between mile markers 17 and 22 and run the rest of the way with his mother.

Parkinson said she cherishes that hour she gets to run alongside her son. "He kind of held me up last year."

She said her husband is also very supportive even though he is not a runner. She said he will drive her to the bus early on Monday morning and make sure he is at the finish line to cheer for her when she crosses it.