Be the Match. This is the reason for running The Miracle Match Marathon in Waco, Texas. On January 26, Jan Seeley and Jenny Stinson of Marathon & Beyond ran through the beautiful town of Waco as they honored both bone marrow donors and recipients at every mile. The Scott & White Marrow Donor Program is the race's beneficiary, with its mission "to facilitate marrow transplants from volunteer donors as life-saving therapy for patients of all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds." Jan's husband, Joe, had two stem cell transplants before he lost his battle with leukemia in October 2012. Jan stopped to honor Joe, the mile 26 honoree (as seen in the photo above). Dubbed the "toughest little marathon in Texas," the race lived up to its reputation with hills galore. Runners end the race on the suspension bridge, a symbol of how the Miracle Match Marathon "bridges the gap" between donors and recipients. Click here for more information. 

If you had hopes of including the 2014 Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota, in your spring racing plans, make a note that days remaining to register are limited.

The final day to enter the lottery for this year's 24th annual event is Friday, Feb. 21. The half-marathon registration is conducted through an online lottery process in which 6,700 participants will be randomly selected from all entrants. Registration began Feb. 10, and those still needing to enter the lottery can do so at www.GrandmasMarathon.com. During the week of Feb. 24, everyone who signed up for the lottery will receive an email stating whether or not they were selected. Credit/debit cards will be charged ONLY if the registrant is selected in the lottery. The entry fee is $80, plus processing charge.

The race is set for Saturday, June 21, at 6:15 a.m., and is run on the second half of the Grandma's Marathon course and utilizes the same finish line as the marathon.

When did you start running and why?

I have lived in Woodstock, Illinois, for the past eight years. Luckily, I live in a community with lots of places to run (through the quiet streets of subdivisions and winding country roads), and there is a beautiful limestone bike trail a short drive away that extends for, ironically, 26 miles. I started running in 1993 to lose weight after my son was born. The gym was boring and a little intimidating, I wasn't coordinated enough for aerobics, but I could run. But after a few years, I needed a goal in order to keep running - I was getting bored and needed motivation. I had lost all the weight right away and found myself asking, why am I running now? One day I received a post card in the mail from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Team In Training (TNT), stating that they would "train" me to run a marathon, and send me to Alaska to run this marathon, all for a "modest" fundraising contribution. How great was THAT? After hearing how much money I had to raise, I was tentative, but being young and carefree, I signed up. Before I knew it, I was training for my first marathon. I had never run a race of any distance prior to this. Now I had a goal - 26.2 miles - in gorgeous Anchorage, Alaska. The year was 1998. At the time, I figured I'd run one marathon and be done with it - check off "marathon running" on my life's to-do list. But as marathons go, one is never enough, and I was easily convinced to run a second marathon that same year at Chicago. Here I am 16 years later, with 43 marathons under my belt and many more in the planning stages. 

Yes, I began running for exercise and to lose weight, and that turned into running toward a goal race to stay motivated, which then turned into running to meet goals I had set for myself. A friend of mine pointed out to me that my running pace could win some age group awards at local races, so I began to train harder, learning what speed work and tempo runs were all about. I entered local races and DID win age-group awards, so then it began to be exciting and a challenge to get better. At the beginning of 2002, I set a goal for myself to quality for the Boston Marathon that year. I trained hard and ran several marathons that summer, just missing the qualifying time by a heartbreaking minute or two. Finally, in October, I ran a 3:31 qualifying time at Chicago, and Boston was within my grasp. I signed up right away to run Boston in 2003 (and also qualified and ran 2004). The goal I set for myself for 2004 was to place either second or third overall (I wasn't crazy enough to think I could win first!) in my age group in the Chicago Area Runners Association running circuit. That was no small feat, having to travel sometimes very long distances almost every weekend to run races, and place in the top three in my age group standings for every race I ran. But I did it. Other than the birth of my son, I don't think I've had a prouder moment in life than attending the CARA awards banquet and accepting my third place overall age-group award. I had worked so hard for that!  

In the years since then, life has taken its twists and turns, and now I'm just running for fun again. I would like to get back to Boston for a third time and maybe even place on the CARA circuit again someday. But I have to say running 35-40 miles a week for fun is a whole lot easier than running 60-70 miles a week in training mode. It takes a lot of time, dedication, and focus to train well.

Your running partner, James, is also your partner in life.  Tell us about your running together.

James and I met and started running together about 13 years ago. We met through our kids being on the same sports team when they were little, and through talking we learned that we each ran on a consistent basis and even ran marathons. So, as runners do, we said, "Hey, we should all run together some time." Running was the common thread that initially brought us together, and we developed into good friends for years. Through running, we helped each other work out problems, supported each other during individual difficult times, solved world peace, and appreciated a sunrise or sunset or two. As the years rolled on and we continued running and supporting each other, we became closer and developed a bond that we nurture and continue to build upon every day. Now we run together nightly, or as often as possible, weather permitting in our northern climate. We love traveling, and running marathons in different states gets us out and about. We run at different paces, which is fine. But we're always there for each other, whether it be a few steps ahead or behind. 

James and I ran together for the 5K and 10K, and we crossed the finish line hand-in-hand, which meant the world to me. For the half marathon and marathon, since we normally run different paces for the longer races, we agreed that we would each run our own race this time, also. In the end, after completing the Challenge, it was incredibly fun, and I would absolutely run it again if I could afford it. For me, the cost was the only setback. 

Running those distances back-to-back wasn't difficult for me as I was running slower than usual. I imagine if one were to try to PR at each distance, that could be very difficult and could lead to injury. But we were just running to enjoy as much as possible, see the sights, savor the sounds, and experience the days. I was a little worried about injuries post-Challenge, but I ran so slowly throughout all four races that I didn't get injured at all. Thank goodness. And James didn't either! Even the insanely early morning wake-up calls got easier after the second day.

What does your running look like in your future?

With regard to my future running, I do want to get back into shape and run for time perhaps over the next few years. I definitely want to get my marathon times back into 3:45 range consistently, which I believe is doable. I'd love to get back to Boston, and I would love to run the CARA circuit again and place in my age group one of these years. For 2014, James and my plans are about the same -  to lose weight, get back into shape, then maybe next year start pushing the speed work again. It's FUN to run fast!! I've been asked to run 50Ks, but honestly 26.2 miles is far enough for me. I get bored easily and have a difficult enough time staying focused for 26.2 miles. James and I both hope to be running marathons together well into our golden years. It gets us out to different places that we might not normally get to and allows us to explore the world we live in, or at least the U.S. right now. We look forward to expanding our horizons and running in other countries someday.  

Our M&B GoHat by Headsweats is lightweight, versatile, and comfy - perfect for the spring running season. Current color choices: White with black, red, blue, or pink trim. One size fits all.