BELLEVILLE – Since she began running two years ago, Mary Kronable, a nurse from Godfrey, had a dream of running in the famed Boston Marathon, the oldest race of its kind in the world.
Recently, the dream came true.
Kronable, who’s a nurse at Alton Memorial Hospital, won the Belleville Marathon with a time of 3 hours, 27 minutes, 33.762 seconds, and qualified for the famous race in 2021, when the Boston Marathon will have its 125th running.
The race, which is traditionally run on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April, has attracted runners from all over the world, and dates back to 1897.
And in an amazing fact, it was only the second marathon that Kronable had ever run.
“My first one was the GO! St. Louis Marathon,” Kronable said in a recent interview, “and I ran six or seven days a week to get ready.”
And on the day before the Belleville Marathon, Kronable was on call at Alton Memorial – and sure enough, she was called in to assist on surgery.
“I was in the operating room at 10 o’clock the night before the race, still working,” Kronable said with a laugh.
Her night before and pre-race routines were tossed out the window because of the surgery, and her pre-race meal consisted of a bag of pretzels. By the time she reached the sixth mile of the race, her only goal was qualifying for Boston.
“I was aiming for a 3:30, just in case, because you always want to go lower than that, just in case,” Kronable said, “but I didn’t think I was going to get that.”
But something unusual happened near the end. With about three miles to go, Kronable managed to catch up to race leaders Nicolette Schnettgoecke and Raechel Tinius, and passed them by to take the lead.
“I was stunned when I passed the first place girl with three miles left,” Kronable said. “I didn’t know how that was happening, but it did,” she said with a laugh.
Besides winning the race, Kronable was very impressed with the entire operation of the marathon, and had an overall very positive experience.
“It was a very well-organized, awesome marathon,” Kronable said. “There were lots of energy and volunteers, really cool water stations, with one that looked like Neverland, just like Peter Pan. I’m surprised that more people don’t know about it.”
Kronable also credited race organizer Mike Toolen with his help on the race itself.
“He’s a very sweet man,” Kronable said.
Kronable is a member of the Metro Milers in Edwardsville, as well as being one of the founders of the Alton Running Club. She runs with the Milers on Tuesdays and Thursdays and with the ARC on Wednesdays. She always felt that she would be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon and run in the prestigious race.
“I took up running in the last couple of years,” Kronable said, “and that was always my goal. I just didn’t know when it would happen.
And happen at Belleville it did, and while she does plan on running in some upcoming events, the pressure to qualify for Boston is off, and now will concentrate of cutting her time as much as possible before the big race in 2021.
Kronable does plan in racing in a 50K run in Bryce Canyon, Utah, as well as the Pere Marquette Trail Run down the road as well in other local races, and has a very ambitious goal to run in all 50 states.
“I originally thought about running in each state,” Kronable said, “but that might take the rest of my life,” she said with a laugh.
Kronable credits her family and their support for all of the success she’s enjoyed in the past two years, and starts planning on training for Boston soon.
“I couldn’t have done it without my family’s support,” Kronable said very proudly.
