EudoraNews.com

Stephanie Orth had never considered herself a runner, and she never had any desire to start.

But now, she has one marathon under her belt and is training for a second.

After only four months of training, the 1984 Eudora High graduate in May headed to Canada to run her first marathon and attempt to achieve a goal Orth, who has always hated running, never thought she would make.

Marathon runner Stephanie Orth runs on county roads around Eudora because the surface is easier to train on. Orth is preparing for the New York City Marathon, and will run several road races to train for it.

When she crossed the finish line of the Forest City Marathon in London, Ontario, with a time of 4:23.07, she did just that. And at that time, finishing was all that mattered.

"I was just happy to finish," Orth said. "My goal was that I wanted to finish the whole thing without walking."

It was only fitting that the marathon was on Mother's Day about eight months after Orth had her first baby, Devon, who watched on with Orth's husband Joe. She also shared her excitement after the race with her mother Mary Ann Watts, making Mother's Day complete.

"I'm real proud of her," said Watts, a Eudora resident. "She did great and when she called she said, 'Mom I did it, I did it, I did it. I'm so exhausted, but I did it.' And she said, 'Mom, it was worth it.'"

It was also worth it to Orth, not because she beat many other runners, but because she attained the goal she had set for herself.

"The thing about running is that it's an endless journey," Orth said. "With running you can always better yourself. You can run further or faster. Every single run can be a personal accomplishment."

Now that she knows she can do it, Orth is training for the New York City Marathon, which is on the first Sunday in November.

"Now that I know I can go the distance, I want to work on speed," the Olathe resident said. "I can always better myself."

Orth will be running in the Streamway Half Marathon in Shawnee on Sept. 10 in preparation for her trip to New York. Orth also competes in five- and10-kilometer races every weekend to keep her competitive edge.

"I'm not a very competitive person with other people, because who cares if they beat me" Orth said. "But I am really competitive with myself and that's the only person that really counts."

That personal drive is something that her husband, Joe, said was an inspiration.

"When she commits herself, there's nothing to stop her," he said. "I'm amazed at the things she's accomplished."

The running addiction began in January, four months after Orth had her daughter Devon, and she found herself a stay-at-home mom. After a few short races, she was hooked.

"I hated to run; I thought it was the dumbest thing in the whole world," Orth said. "But I needed a goal and now I love it. I love to run."

A vigorous training routine was nothing new for the aerobics instructor, who added weight training and running four days each week, to her five days of aerobics.

"She's quite a hero," Joe said. "She's always pushing herself and that's hard to do."

Although she pushes herself, Orth attributes much of her success to the support she gets from Joe and her mom.

"My husband is fabulous," Orth said. "I could not have done this without him or my mom. They are two of my biggest supporters."

Although marathons are the latest events for Orth, she is not stopping there. The die-hard runner is also preparing for the Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco one year from now.

"That's the next thing," Orth said. "Then a friend and I are going to take a cruise to Alaska to recover."