New York City Moms Balance Work, Kids and Marathon

More than 40,000 people will run the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday. Among them will be working mothers chosen to represent all five of New York City's boroughs in the 2009 Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge Team. The women, some running the marathon for the first time, all have unique stories, but share the bonds of being fit, working mothers balancing all the demands that come with those roles. The team of five was also joined recently by another woman, Beth Segaloff, who recently lost her fiancé, Captain Ben Sklarver, just three weeks ago when he was deployed in Afghanistan. The women will run together for the first 13 miles, and then anyone can break away for the second half. The woman with the best time will win a trophy, and bragging rights. But none of these women are part of this team to brag. Instead, they find peace, motivation and solace in their commitment to running. That's Fit recently met the team, along with mom and marathon Olympian, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, to find out how, and why, they have made running such a critical part of their lives.

Jessica LeBron (Bronx): It's been an honor for me to run with these women. Trying to juggle school, work and a teenage daughter, it's a lot of work. But I feel guilty if I don't go for a run. I started running in the summer of '06. I started on a treadmill and once I got outside I didn't want to stop. It's a stress release.

Dorthy McPhee (Brooklyn): If I put out the stroller after a long day - I look at it and I tell myself 'no excuses!' People stop me when they see me pushing the stroller (she pushes two kids in a jogging stroller, totaling nearly 100 pounds) and say 'If you can do it, I can do it!'

Angela Gonzalez (Queens): This is my sixteenth marathon, my fifth in New York City. My day starts at 5:30 a.m. I'm home [from my run] before [my kids] get up. The clock helps me run faster, because I only have an hour. If I don't do it, it feels like something's not right. Running is my therapy.

Lisa Stavros DeFillipo (Staten Island): This is my first marathon. But if this is something you're passionate about, you'll find the time to do it. During a run, you can work out your schedule for the day before everyone else gets up, and then buy bagels on the way home! I began running after my first daughter, just to lose the baby weight. But then I never stopped, I just kept going and it's been very gratifying to push myself.

Allyson Hentel-Koplin (Manhattan): Running means that you have to be flexible. Whether it's running before the kids get up, or being able to go during lunch. Sometimes I'm in a sports bra under my suit. When I began to run in 1998, I was a single woman who doubted I could run three miles. Now I am a mother who runs marathons.

Beth Segaloff (honorary member): Running has always been an amazing challenge and I'm proud to be a role model for my son. Knowing he's excited for me is just so inspiring. It has always been a source of energy and a release for me. [My husband] was proud of the hard work and dedication I was putting into this accomplishment, and I want to go on for him.

Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Olympian): Besides being a role model for you kids, it's about setting goals and achieving them. You have to be so committed. I ran up to the day before I gave birth. But during my pregnancy I never got to the point where everything was hurting because I was moving every day. It's important to reinforce that you're doing something great, for yourself and your family.