NORWICH – On Sunday, Norwich resident Diane DiStefano will line up with 45,000 runners from across the world to take part in 40th annual New York City Marathon.
A crowd of more than two million people is expected to cheer her on, along with the Olympic athletes, celebrities and thousands of others who will race the 26.2 mile marathon through each of the city’s five boroughs.
“When I make my bucket list in 20 years, I’ll get to cross this one off. It’s a race like no other, running through all the five boroughs, between the rich and poor areas and the diverse cultural communities. It’s more like traveling through different countries,” said DiStefano.
Being one of the largest and perhaps the most famous marathons in the nation, the event annually draws more than 100,000 applicants each year with organizers admitting about a third of those requests. DiStefano applied to participate in the race in January and was accepted through a public lottery in April.
“I checked my e-mail and I was like ‘Oh my God I got in.’ I know people who have tried for years to get in,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the sights and sounds of the city. You’ll see things during the race that you wouldn’t be able to see if you were just sight seeing, and there will be more people than I’ll ever see in my life.”
In an effort to get more exercise, DiStefano began running casually in March 2009 with no intention of ever participating in a marathon. A full-time practicing attorney and a married mother of two, the 39-year-old seems surprised to be telling loved ones she’s currently in “the best shape of her life.”
DiStefano now finds her recreational activity moving to the center of her personal life. She is often joined in her runs by her 10-year-old son Parker and her two step-daughters, 21-year-old Mary Frances Dean and 18-year-old Abby Dean. The daughters hope to participate in their own marathons in the near future, said DiStefano.
She said her husband, also an attorney, Aaron Dean, has long offered his support for her running passion. After a recent death in the family, she now finds Sunday’s event bringing her loved ones even closer together.
DiStefano will be running with the words “I run in memory of my father-in-law, Allan A. Dean” on her jersey, after his unexpected death Oct. 17.
She says her running has also unintentionally drawn an aspect of health to her family’s everyday lives that wasn’t there before.
“I like to go out on a run, that’s why I do it. There wasn’t some great cause that got me out there. I just enjoy the feeling I get when I’m out there on the road, by myself. I think about a lot of things and it helps clear my mind,” said DiStefano.
Following a personalized training program designed by Sherburne trainer Jim Matott, DiStefano reached many smaller goals before attempting a marathon.
In the last year and a half she and other family members have participated in a number of local 5k runs including the Chenango County Council of the Arts 5k Allegro Run, the Vestal 20k run, the Norwich YMCA 5k Turkey Trot, the 15k Boilermaker in Utica and more.
“I just stated running in March last year. I was walking a lot and figured I might as well jog. Once you start there’s no turning back, you’re hooked,” she said. “It’s about how far can you push your body. It’s like a test or a game and I love it.”
DiStefano recently ran a 22-mile self plotted course through the Norwich area and has been running several miles a day nearly every other day with near-marathon distances being attempted at least once a week.
She hopes to complete the marathon within five hours and will kick off at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 7.
“Everybody has something that they do. This is one of the things I enjoy,” said DiStefano.