Wellington runner has 'perfect' Boston Marathon

By Brenda Rader Mross
North Forty News

A rainy Sunday in Boston is appreciated in the springtime...except when it's the day before the city's famed marathon.

"I thought, 'Uh-oh. It's going to be really tough tomorrow,'" said Natalie Gallegos, a Wellington area woman who placed 3,845th out of more than 26,000 qualifiers in the 2010 Boston Marathon.

But Monday morning, the skies were clear and beautiful – "a perfect running day," Gallegos said.

The 31-year-old mother of three was 382nd in her gender age division with an official time of 3:16:23.

The Boston Marathon has been held every April 19 since 1897 in commemoration of Patriots' Day, the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the start of the American Revolutionary War.

"Perfect" continued to be Gallegos's word for what turned out to be "a runner's dream."

"It was incredible! I started running and felt great," recalled Gallegos, who has been long-distance running for four years. "I have a watch that tells me how fast I'm going. It said 7:30, and I thought, 'Perfect! I'm trying to keep this pace for the first half of the marathon.'"

She ran the full 26.2 hilly miles that fast, a personal best she attributed to competing at sea level with same-paced runners and to the 500,000 spectators.

"From the start to the very end, they were lined up on both sides of the road ahead, cheering you on, slapping your hands, holding signs," she said.

One sign, "Pain is temporary; pride is forever," became Gallegos's race mantra, inspiring her to run her hardest, remembering the positive thinking that constantly fuels her.

"I cried afterward, I was so happy," she said.

Gallegos has the perfect celebration planned: running the Colorado Marathon on May 9.