COURTESY PHOTO
Lynn resident Allison Gwilliam is preparing to run the Boston Marathon in April.
By KATIE MORRISON
Lynn resident Allison Gwilliam hasn’t been a serious runner for long. It’s been about two years since she picked up the hobby.
“It was just because I got married, and that took a lot of planning,” Gwilliam said. “So I was thinking, what else can I fill my free time with? So I started running.”
In those short two years, Gwilliam, 30, already completed one marathon, in Washington D.C., and is gearing up to run her first Boston Marathon.
Running Boston this year was kind of meant to be for Gwilliam. Just a day after she completed her first marathon, she found out she could apply to be a part of New England Baptist Hospital’s first-ever Boston Marathon team. The hospital, where Gwilliam works as a physical therapist, had four bibs to give out, so she decided to give it a shot.
“The (Marine Corps) Marathon in D.C. was a lot of fun, I had a real good experience,” said Gwilliam. “But Boston is home to me, so I figured why not try it. It was a little bit impulsive.”
Being able to run for the “Your Motion Matters” team is especially near and dear to Gwilliam.
“It means a lot,” she said. “Working directly with everyone at the hospital, I see the great work the doctors and nurses do firsthand. It’s cool to be able to tell patients that I’ve been training and will be running for the hospital.”
Of course, with the training comes fundraising. Gwilliam has worked toward her goal of $7,500, and with under a month until race day, she has just about $1,000 left to raise.
Gwilliam said getting to that number seemed overwhelming, but everyone has been supportive.
“Working at the hospital and being close with the staff, they’ve been very supportive and encouraging, and that helped,” she said. “The hospital has been helpful as well; it held a bake sale where (she and the three other members of the team) were able to come and volunteer.”
Gwilliam has also gotten creative with her fundraising efforts. In addition to fundraiser nights at Unos in Swampscott and Tides in Nahant, she got together with her husband, Peter Gwilliam, and friend and Top Chef alum Carl Dooley at Dooley’s restaurant in Cambridge for a four-course brunch. Peter, a chef, prepared two courses while Dooley prepared the other two. Gwilliam said the brunch was her most successful fundraising effort.
Of course, Gwilliam has also been working hard getting her body ready for the marathon. She said that her first marathon was about as difficult as she thought it’d be, and her background helped her prepare for the race.
“Having a background in the human body and physical therapy helped me know how to stretch” Gwilliam said.
She finished her first marathon in four hours and 25 minutes, and is aiming to finish in about the same time at Boston.
“I’m hoping to be around that time, but we’ll see with all the hills,” she said.
Among the things Gwilliam is excited for?
“Definitely the crowds, and seeing friends and family along the route,” she said. “And just being able to say I ran it.”
And while she’s not ready for race day to come and go just yet, there is one thing she’s looking forward to after the race.
“It’ll be nice to have some free time again!”