Jen French Wins lottery to run 2018 New York City Marathon

Running is Jen French’s escape. The 34-year-old mother of two, and a runner for the past 11 years, treats the activity as “me” time — time to be alone, and time to think. Her decision to register for the New York City Marathon was a gamble. Every year a lottery is held and just four to five thousand runners are selected from more than 120,000 entries. “It’s really exciting,” she said. “It’s the biggest marathon in the world and the hardest one to get in to...They ask you some questions (through email) like why you like running, how many marathons you’ve done, your times and what your goals are for this year. You kind of just send it off and you hope for the best.” On Feb. 28, French got an e-mail notifying her she’d been accepted. French’s passion for running began after she had her first child 11 years ago. She started off with short distances just as a way to get out of the house for some time to herself. That’s when she got hooked. “When I start to run harder and deeper into the loneliness, further away from the world and busyness, structure and routine of life I being to feel strangely elated, detached and, at the same time, connected,” she described. “More connected to my body — it helps me realize the simplicity of life and gain perspective. Everything that seems overwhelming in a day is more manageable after a good run.”

posted Wednesday March 14th