Local women Hillie Van’t Klooster, 50, and Leoni Kelly, 45, competed in the 122nd annual Boston Marathon, which took place Monday, April 16.
For Van’t Klooster it is her second go at the event and she is more than eager to return to do it again.
“It’s very exciting, I did it 10 years ago in 2008 and I want to go back to Boston to do it once more,” Van’t Klooster said.
Kelly however is a first timer at the famous Boston event and is thrilled to have the opportunity.
“I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime achievement and I’m thankful for the opportunity to do it, it’s a big blessing,” said Kelly. “I think this is probably going to be one of the highlights of all the things I’ve ever done.”
The two runners are excited to have been able to share the experience of running in this event together.
“It’s amazing, I love Leoni; we do a lot of things together,” said Van’t Klooster. “It’s always good to go with someone you know instead of by yourself.”
In July of 2017, Kelly and Van’t Klooster placed second and third respectively at an Iron Man 70.3 in Calgary.
“It’s awesome, we’ve done a lot of races together,” Kelly said.
The two have also qualified for the Iron Man 70.3 World Championship in South Africa where Kelly is from. It takes place in June.
The pair had different personal goals they hoped to achieve during the marathon.
Kelly hoped to shave 10 minutes off of her qualification time while Van’t Klooster wasn’t just focusing on time but also just being able to enjoy the experience.
“You’re always competitive, you always want to do your best on race day. In Boston it’s a little bit different because there’s so many people in that race," Van’t Klooster said.
Speaking before the race, she said, “there’s people everywhere around the course so it’s going to be difficult to set a personal best. My goal is just to enjoy it, although I have a certain time goal I want to reach."
In terms of preparation for the event, the pair didn’t need to change much as they’re active year round.
Van’t Klooster said they've focused on running and picked up the pace since December.
Going into the marathon, Van’t Klooster and Kelly didn’t have any fears or nerves about it.
“We prepared very well, as good as we could do for this marathon. I know I can do it, I’m just so happy I can do it,” Van’t Klooster said.
