American marathon record holder Deena Kastor has been writing and decided in December to run Boston

At 45, Deena Kastor has been writing and training at her high-altitude home in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. Her newly-released book, "Let Your Mind Run, A Memoir of Thinking My Way To Victory" (Crown Archetype), is a gem. She's also in the final stages of her training for the Boston Marathon on Monday, a race she has only run once before. At her last Boston Marathon in 2007, she battled the rain and wind which was so strong that organizers nearly canceled the race. Kastor sloshed her way to fifth place and won the USA marathon title, a prelude to her victory one year later at the USA Olympic Trials Marathon which were also held in Boston, but on a different course. "It wasn't my intention to be part of this phenomenal American field that is being put together," said Kastor, who admitted that she only got the idea to run Boston at the end of December after finishing up the bulk of her writing on the book. "It was my intention, when I finished with this book, I couldn't wait to get in shape again because I had spent so much time in front of that computer." She added: "I needed to put something on the calendar again. Why not go big and choose the most historic marathon in our country?" (She was speaking with David Monti from Race Results Weekly)

posted Thursday April 12th