Dumont native Macala Donnelly will compete in Monday’s 129th Boston Marathon. A 2008 Hampton-Dumont alum, Donnelly qualified for the event by finishing in 3:23:10 at last year’s Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota.
With a long history in the sport of running, Donnelly competed in some smaller-scale marathons in the early 2010s. After a stint of knee soreness, she worked back into long distance form to qualify for one of the most prestigious races in the United States. She shares some advice for anyone looking to improve their athletic skills or general health and well-being.
“The biggest thing is you have to change your habits in order to see change in your life,” Donnelly says. “Even if it’s just like walking a certain amount of time every day to start to get your body ready to move I think is really important, and then also to find accountability, so to find a friend that would like to either go walking with you or to run with you. Accountability is huge, and it makes it so much more fun. Also just the mentality of this is actually really hard for everyone. It’s not like I go out there and this is so easy. Like I have given everything I have to get to the point where I am now physically. This has been a really big challenge in my life, and I just have pushed through. So don’t think long distance runners just are good at it and it’s easy for them. They put a ton of work into getting to where they’re at. And so anybody can get moving. It’s just, you’ve got to do it.”
The marathon races will begin Monday morning and run throughout the day.
