We've all heard the saying, "it's a marathon, not a sprint."
And one Opelousas art teacher exemplifies those very words.Scott Brazda put on his running shoes for this Spirit of Acadiana.
"When you walk around Boston, everyone kind of looks at you, because we all have our jackets on. Everyone kind of looks and some people say, 'Are you running the Boston Marathon?' Yes, I am. 'Is it your first?' Yes, it's my first."
Michelle Reed might move rather quickly down the halls of the Opelousas Magnet School for Cultural Arts, but for most of her life, running was not part of her DNA.
"Oh, no. I was not. I actually didn't think I could run when I was younger," said Reed.
But her husband did some running, and as Michelle attended, she began to say I can do that.
"And I was like, 'Oh, they don't look like runners,' and I started to 5ks and then 10ks."
And then she started to do marathons. The most recent of which was the Boston Marathon ten days ago.
15,379 runners took part in this year's Boston Marathon. And Michelle had to overcome cramping in her feet to finish the 26.2 mile event in four hours, ten minutes and one seconds.
That placed her 10,665th meaning she beat about 4,700 runners.
"And they just kept saying, 'One step at a time.' And I knew one step at a time would get me there," said Reed. "Thank God, my leg started to loosen up and then I was able to keep running and I was able to cross the finish line running."
Next up for Michelle Reed is a marathon in Houston in January. In the meantime, she'll keep running and teaching.
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