Boston Marathon 2009: Marblehead’s Bednar seasoned pro second time around

For someone whose first road race was last year’s Boston Marathon, Cara Bednar of Marblehead is fast becoming an old pro at running.Shortly after taking on the challenge of conquering Heartbreak Hill, she also ran both the Walt Disney Marathon (in Florida) and the Newport Marathon (in Rhode Island). On April 20, she looks forward to the thrill of Boston once again.”I did Boston (time of 4:20) last year on a whim, as I got an entry form from a girl in my office,” said Bednar, who works at the Greater Boston Visitors Convention Center. “It was the best experience, as Boston’s the Mecca of all marathons, and to have it be my first is most memorable.”Bednar, who turns 24 just a few days after the race, played tennis, swam, and ran spring track prior to her 2003 graduation from Marblehead High, then continued with tennis at St. Michael’s College in Vermont. She took up casual running right after college, going two miles a few times a week. But all of that paled to running the Marathon last year.”It was perfect weather, with sunshine and the temperature being in the high 40s. My family came to the race last year, and my sister met me at BC, where she jumped right in,” Bednar said. “We ran the last few miles together. The camaraderie was amazing, with people lining up in clusters all the way from Hopkinton to Boston. The fans are what makes the Marathon, with bands playing at Newton Hills, and kids handing out oranges along the way. The people I met in Boston raising money for different causes were incredible as well.”She didn’t have a problem with Heartbreak Hill, but she had some trouble near the finish.”Right after the Hill and underneath the Citgo sign, there’s the smallest incline,” she said. “I ran too fast at that point, and didn’t pace myself that well.”As a result of having run the various marathons last year, Bednar is setting her sights on other well-known courses.”I definitely want to do the New York City and Marine Corps (in Washington, DC), and am doing the Chicago Marathon later this year,” she said. “And I’m doing the ‘Run To Remember’ half-marathon in May, which supports fallen heroes. That takes place from the seaport all along Storrow Drive into Cambridge.”Bednar goes on several 11-mile runs, from Marblehead to Beverly Farms, in preparation for the Marathon on Patriots Day.”My motivation is not to have any injuries, and to prove to myself that the time doesn’t matter,” she said. “And I’ll keep doing them (races) for as long as I can.”