PEABODY — While running 26.2 miles might seem like torture for some, that isn’t the case for Eponina Neto.
The Peabody resident just completed the Chicago Marathon in the Windy City and while she is running, she gets a much more pleasing feeling out of it.
“I feel happy,” she said. “I feel free. For me, it’s a way to release stress.”
Completing the Chicago Marathon was a moment that Neto had been waiting nearly two years for. She had qualified for the 2020 race but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I prepared almost a year and a half for that day,” she said.
As one of the six major marathons in the world, Neto said it was amazing to be able to compete in the race.
Training for that long can be grueling and Neto said the entire training process can be tough for anyone.
“You train hard every day,” she said. “You give up a lot of things, a lot of time between family and work and things you want to do for yourself. You have to choose to go to bed early, what you eat ― it’s not easy. For anyone to run a marathon or start running, it has to be something that you like because it’s very hard, but it’s not impossible.”
As Neto trekked to the Windy City, she was able to find motivation from thinking about her family who had come to support her there, as well as all the hours of training she had put in.
“They are there waiting for me,” she said of her family. “So you want to finish for yourself but you think of how happy they will be when you cross the finish line. You think of the hard work you have given between all the training. I say to myself ‘you trained hard, you can do it.'”
Neto set a goal for herself of finishing the race in 3:40 but ended up finishing the race in 4:07. Still, she was still pleased with the result of all her hard work and already had her mind set on her next race.
“When you finish one, right after you think ‘oh what is going to be my next one? When can I sign up for my next one?'” said the Peabody resident.
Neto’s goal of 3:40 might seem quite specific, and that’s because it’s the time needed to qualify to run in the Boston Marathon.
“My big dream is to run Boston one day,” she said. “I tried twice to qualify but didn’t. I’m still dreaming and continuing to try.”
