BOSTON — The Boston Marathon showed us great stories of perseverance, including a husband and wife team that crossed the Finish line just after midnight – 13 hours after starting the race in Hopkinton.
Mary Shertenlieb is a cancer survivor running to raise money for Dana Farber and the doctors there that saved her life.
MORE: Thousands drop out of marathon due to cold, but inspiring moments prevail
Mary said with Monday’s brutal conditions, she went into a medical tent in Wellesley around the 15.5-mile mark with purple lips, shaking, worried about hypothermia.
Just after midnight Tuesday, Mary crossed the finish line with her husband, Rich, who sports fans will know from the Toucher and Rich radio show.
He knew she had to stop, but mentally she didn’t want to.
Mary said Rich convinced her to come home, get warm, have a nice meal and then, if she was up for it, to go back out together after the rain.
Around 8:30 p.m. they took a cab to the spot Mary had to stop earlier in the day and finished the nearly 11 remaining miles of the course together, and where greeted at the finish line by cheering family and friends.
“Oh my goodness, that was crazy,” she said. “You can do anything. It may not be how you imagined it playing out, but you can still get it done.”
So many other inspiring stories marked the 122nd Boston Marathon, including the participation of Carlos Arredondo, with his famous cowboy hat, five years after he heroically rushed bombing victims to safety.
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