IU senior tackles Boston Marathon

The first marathon senior Kelley Ann Schilke ever ran she "got suckered into."\nTwo years ago, her friends talked her into running the Chicago Marathon with them -- and then they dropped out. Determined to prove herself, she decided to run it anyway. \n"I trained all winter and beat all their times," she said. "After that, I was just hooked."\nSchilke, a 22-year-old senior majoring in anthropology at IU, completed her biggest running achievement yet Monday. She ran 26.2 miles in the 109th Boston Marathon, finishing in 3 hours, 40 minutes and 6 seconds and placing 6427 out of 17,549 finishing runners.\nTo qualify for the Boston Marathon, Schilke ran the Indianapolis Marathon in October. From there, she had seven months to train for "the world's most famous race." \nShe started by running between six and eight miles a day, and she typically added a mile to her daily run each week -- depending on how much homework she had, she said. She also trained with other experienced runners, including Tracy Gates, her manager at Encore Café.\n"It's really hard to put your shoes on everyday and go out running," Gates said. "She trained by herself until she started running with me, and that takes huge mental strength."\nSchilke said the hardest days were the cold and sometimes snowy days. In the last month of training, she ran between 18 and 20 miles a day.\n"Where most people would probably stop, her mental strength pushes her through it," Gates said. "Most people would start walking, but that kid has got so much heart."\nSchilke was ready. Her big day started April 18, a bright, early Monday morning. Runners were bussed to the starting point of the race in Hopkinton, Mass., at 7 a.m. At 11:30 a.m., runners were corralled into their groups at the starting line.\nSchilke was bib number 11,565 out of about 20,000 total runners participating in the race that day. Like most races that size, the start was a slow one. It took her nine minutes and 36 seconds just to cross the starting line. \n"I wasn't tying to take it too seriously," Schilke said. "For the first 10 miles I was just thinking, 'I'm running the Boston Marathon!'"\nThe race finished in downtown Boston, with crowds 15 to 20 people deep lining the streets and cheering on the racers. \nFinishing the race was an "awesome feat of mind over matter," Schilke said. When she crossed the finish line, volunteers were there to congratulate her and to help her walk.\n"You cross the finish line, and it's so awesome," Schilke said. "It almost puts life in perspective. You don't worry about school, work, money or time. It was just you pushing your body to the limits. It was an unreal experience."\nIt will take about two weeks for Schilke's body to recover from the race. Her feet are blistered, she is missing some toenails, and she has a torn fascia in her left knee. \n"This was the hardest thing I've ever done," she said. "I wanted to do something just for me, motivate myself. It's really cool that your will can overcome your body."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Megan Hubartt at mhubartt@indiana.edu.