Chicago marathon: A post race wrap-up with runner Briana Burns

Briana Burns ran the 26.2 mile Chicago Marathon on Oct. 7. The Roosevelt University alumna obtained a masters degree in integrated marketing communications in 2012 and previously attended Marshall University to pursue sports management and marketing. She graduated from Marshall University in 2010.  Burns said philanthropy was the motivating factor in her decision to run her first marathon. During her free time, she enjoys sports.

Why she ran the marathon: “First, I had always been curious what it was like to accomplish running 26.2 miles. Second, I had lost my uncle, whom I was very close to, this past Christmas. He was also an athletic person, and had achieved PGA status...I felt like running to help others was something that would honor him, since he used his talents to help others also.”

Best memory: “It was great to see many different organizations represented by various people. Knowing that all of these people not only trained, but fundraised for the last four to five months, was very moving to me.”

Her response about running again: “If I do it again, I will definitely run for charity. Once I start walking normal again then I’ll make my decision.... it is a lot of wear and tear on the body, and I’m scared to think of how my joints might be 40 years from now if I make this into a permanent hobby.”

Duration to finish the race: “I was very happy I finished in under 5 hours for my first marathon.”

If she had support from the sidelines: “Yes, my parents were at the starting line and met me in charity village after. While it was great to have them cheer for me, it was great having someone get you home after the race, since I was incredibly sore.”

Lessons learned from running: “Running in the marathon I was able to see average people accomplish something great - blind runners, wheelchair competitors, people wanting to cross something off their bucket list, and those who are just running to better our world. I also was really moved by the amount of people who genuinely cheered for us...I think watching the news and the political debates, tends to put me into a negative frame of mind at times because of all the bad ‘stuff’ that is reported, but events like the marathon remind me that there is a lot of good going on in the world.”

- Personal note: “I also wanted to give a sincere thanks to my coach, Brendan Cournane. If anyone is considering running the marathon for the first or 36th time - they should train with him!”

Say congratulations to Briana on Twitter! Are you up for next year's marathon? Tweet us your workout @RUTorch