People run marathons for different reasons.

        For runners like record-breaker Tatyana Pozdnyakova, it's business.

        For runners like Marcia Healy of Fort Thomas, it's personal relief.

        “My personal life has had some challenges,” said Healy, a single mom in charge of four teen-agers. “So I just decided to reclaim my life.”

        Healy had lots of reasons to quit during Sunday's Flying Pig Marathon.

        Even after some eight hours — the last official time was recorded at 6:56:31 — Healy didn't stop.

        She hadn't trained for the race. She said she ran out of time between raising her kids and working full-time.

        Her last marathon? The inaugural Flying Pig Marathon in 1999.

        Before that? Nineteen years ago.

        But she didn't stop.

        “I was doing it whether I had time to train or not,” Healy said.

        Her running shoes were another problem. She bought a pair of shoes on sale for $10 because her kids needed basketball shoes. The only problem was the shoes were a half-size too small. Healy never told her kids. She ran with blisters for the second half of the 26.2-mile course.

        But she didn't stop.

        The last 6miles also were discouraging. All around her, people were dropping out of the race.

        All around her, as the race neared six hours, the event crew began to remove mile markers (Healy said she didn't see a marker after mile 20). The crowds also left. And suddenly, a physical race became a mental challenge, as she didn't know how far she had to go.

        “That was a little discouraging,” Healy said. “And there was people behind me that got discouraged and quit. But I never looked back.”

        She didn't stop.

        “It's just one of those things,” Healy said after she crossed the finish line, where she earned a medal. “I decided I was going to do it. I didn't care how I finished. Just as long as I finished.”

Sports Stories

DAUGHERTY: Flying Pig Enzweiler's appearance inspirational Late entry, but an early finish Pig: 500 volunteers man 25 stations Pig Notebook Race more than just a physical test Russian native pockets $10,000 The sky's the limit Women's champ sets record Derby winner War Emblem is off to the Preakness New company for War Emblem at Preakness Things happen for a reason NKU's Bown named GLVC co-Coach of Year Canadiens 4, Hurricanes 1 Lakers 86, Spurs 80 Nets 99, Hornets 93 Pistons 96, Celtics 84 Rested Inkster wins Chick-fil-A Sunday a better one for Stewart Coming up this week

Giants 6, Reds 5
Reds box, runs
Reds-Brewers series preview
Notes: Larkin lowered in batting order
Pittsburgh gets injured Pokey back
NL roundup
AL roundup
Notes from Sunday's games
Bengals focus on LBs' deals
Bengals notebook
Xavier earns A-10 baseball playoff berth
Baseball, softball sectionals begin
Slow-pitch softball tourney this week
Results, schedule