Kellie Meyer participated in track and cross country in Velva, but she didn’t consider herself a standout athlete in high school. Nor did she run for Minot State University when she attended college.

It was in college that she began running again on her own. That is when she began to improve her times. She has participated in four full marathons and 15 half marathons. She ran in the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth and her time of 3:28:12 qualified her for the Boston Marathon. She is hoping to shave some of that time off in the Boston competition.

She has been training for Boston since December 1 and she has done much of her running outside because of the mild winter in North Dakota this year. When she can’t get outside, she runs on a treadmill.

A marathon is 26.2 miles of running. Meyer has run three 20-mile runs lately in preparation for the marathon. She ran from Towner to Rugby one day. Meyer said that hydration is an important part of running a marathon successfully. Marathons have water stations every two miles and runners can grab a cup, drink it up, and keep on running.

When she thinks about running in the Boston Marathon on April 16, she gets pumped.

“I’m really excited,” said Meyer.

Her husband, Mitch, her dad and a family friend are all going to Boston to cheer her on. When she has completed her run, she will return to school where she is working on a masters degree in school counseling.