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EASTON, Conn. The mother of a girl Nancy Muir used to baby-sit asked her for a unique favor: to run the ING New York City Marathon. The Easton woman happily agreed.
Muir is running Sundays race to support a charity, Alexandras Playground, an organization that builds safe play areas. Muir had been a baby-sitter for the young girl, who died in a boating accident in Long Island Sound in Westport in 2008. Its something thats very important to me, Muir said. I adored her daughter and how much energy she had.
Alexndras mother, Andrea, knew she could count on Muir as a person and as a runner. She has run 15 marathons or ultramarathons Ive lost count, she said and ran a trail marathon earlier this month in Ashford.
Muirs running journey began at Joel Barlow High School, when she played volleyball and softball. I started running as training for soccer, she said. I didnt miss too many days of running once I got started. I was horrible at softball and volleyball. I had no eye-hand coordination. Running became such solace. I loved being out there on my own. If I was having trouble with something, my parents would say go out for a run, come back and well talk. Its probably a good thing that it ended up that way.
Muirs true passion is running on trails. In the Nipmuck Trail Marathon earlier this month, she finished second in her age group and sixth among 143 finishers. New York, she said, is the complete opposite of that.
Muir, who ran the New York Marathon in 2007, disliked the event at first because of the huge crowds. I was still trying to make it to the starting line with just a few minutes to go, she said. I swore off road racing.
Her feelings changed once she got to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and started to travel through the five boroughs. Its just such an amazing event to be part of, Muir said. The crowds, the support, theyre amazing. You see different neighborhoods. Everybody in the city comes out to watch. It combines all the different cultures. Its also great when youre running on the same ground as some of the worlds best athletes. Theres no other sport where that happens.
Muir enjoys running the trails near the Aspetuck Reservoir and the Trout Brook Reserve in Easton. After this, her next big race is a 50-mile trail run in May. Unlike many competitors, Muir focuses on enjoyment. She is not a slave to her time.
I dont have big time goals, she said. I just let them happen. Ive never been one to run for time. For me, I look at what else is out there. People are so friendly on the trails, you end up talking to people for at the aid stations and its no big deal. I want to always have fun, enjoy the race and wake up the next morning saying, OK , Im ready to go out for run.
To view profiles of other runners from Main Street Connect communities in the marathon, visit our other websites in Fairfield County.
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