KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The qualifying time to participate in the Boston Marathon is three hours and 40 minutes. For most people, it can seem impossible to run around 26 miles in that time. But, Liz Ford will soon complete the trek for a third time.
She is a Knoxville runner planning to appear in the Boston Marathon on Monday.
"It's just not a once-in-a-lifetime thing for me. I want to run until the day I die, which is hopefully 100," she said. "It's the most amazing feeling, and really, what I focus on is just going after one person, then the next person, and just taking it one mile at a time."
She will join around 30,000 other runners in the renowned race. She said it was an ambitious challenge brought on by Paul Conn, a former Lee University president. She said he encouraged her to run her first big race in 2005.
"To encourage Lee students to run, and especially for the big grandaddy of them all, 'If any student or faculty, for that matter, qualifies for Boston, we will pay your expenses to go up there and run it,'" he said.
Around 18 years later, Ford is heading back to Boston and says she plans to hold Conn to his promise.
"She reminded me who she was, and what the connection had been 20 years ago. And, she said, 'How about it Mr. Conn, are you still good for that?' And I said, 'Sure, we're still good for that,' and the deal was made," he said.
She said the deal is almost as sweet as crossing the finish line.
"When you finish the marathon, you just feel accomplished. You're exhausted, but you know you did your best and that's all you can do," she said.