Artondale teacher completes Boston Marathon for 5th time

Maryanne Tomich ran her first marathon in 1995 when her son was 14 months old.

And she hasn’t stopped since.

Tomich, now 50, has 18 marathons under her belt, and completed her fifth Boston Marathon on April 18.

“I just love the goal setting of marathoning,” she said. “And I’m running anyways so I figure I might as well train for something.”

She finished this year’s Boston Marathon in 4 hours, 13 minutes, though her personal best time was in 2012 at the Capital City Marathon in Olympia, where she finished in 3:33:33.

Tomich qualified for the 2016 Boston Marathon on Sept. 13, the final day of qualifying.

“This Boston meant a lot to me because two years ago I had a meniscus tear and I didn’t know how much I’d be able to run again,” she said.

It was this injury that kept Tomich from competing in the Boston Marathon in 2013, the year of the terrorist bombing near the finish line.

Though it was her slowest race to date, Tomich is not letting that stop her as she comes back from her knee injury.

“I’m on the comeback trail,” she said. “I’ve signed up for a couple more marathons.”

A member of the Tacoma Marathon Maniacs club, Tomich hasn’t stopped running since high school, where she ran track and cross country.

“I think running is a great sport and anybody can do it,” she said. “The running community is so accepting. It doesn’t matter how far you go or how fast you go, you’re a runner.”

A Fox Island resident, Tomich is a special education preschool teacher at Artondale Elementary, where she’s worked for the past 13 years.

“Running I just feel like it clears my mind,” she said. “I feel I’m a better person and a better teacher.”

Tomich ran her first Boston marathon in 2004, followed by finishes in 2008, 2011, 2012 and this year’s race. And she doesn’t plan to stop with five Boston Marathons.

“I’ve qualified for the Boston Marathon in my 30s, 40s and 50s, and hopefully I will in my 60s,” she said.

This story was originally published April 27, 2016 at 9:59 AM with the headline "Artondale teacher completes Boston Marathon for 5th time."