Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years this past Monday. But the LAST woman to cross the finish line has a pretty great story too . . .
A mom from Boston named Mary Shertenlieb has beaten cancer THREE TIMES. She was originally diagnosed about five years ago with a type of leukemia called AML, and had two relapses.
She wanted to do the marathon to raise money for charity, and her doctors gave her the okay. But she had to stop around mile 15 after showing signs of hypothermia.
It was in the 30s all day, with freezing rain and wind. So she wasn't the only one. More than 2,700 runners needed medical treatment . . . over 10% of all the people who ran.
But Mary refused to quit. She waited more than four hours for the rain to stop . . . then ran another ELEVEN MILES . . . and finished with her husband at 12:18 A.M., about 13 hours after she started. (By the way, her husband happens to be sports radio host Rich Shertenlieb.)
She also raised a TON of money for cancer research by running. Her goal was $15,000, and she ended up bringing in more than 40 grand.
(You can sill donate at RunDFMC.org.)
(Here's her photo.)
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(And here's video of her finishing.)