I ran Cincinnati last year with my dad and absolutely loved it. Still, up until November I was convinced I would never run it again. I had a really bad experience at the Chicago Marathon (finished, but it wasn't pretty), and I was ready to back off and run shorter distances.

Then my dad asked me to run Cincy again. 'Let's go the distance,' is how he put it, and I couldn't refuse. How could I refuse the chance to run a marathon with the most inspirational runner I have ever known -- the person who started me running in the first place -- the person who stayed on my shoulder all the way through my first marathon telling me I could do it? There is no runner in the world I admire and respect more than my dad. Just knowing that he wanted to share this with me again was a great honor I couldn't pass up.

He talks about making this a family tradition, too, because my cousin is also a runner. We'll see about that next year . . . .

Rebecca Sturgeon