Ruth enjoys competition but that is not her only reason for running. "I just really enjoy running and think runners are a very happy group of people. It is nice to get awards but this is only the icing on the cake to me." When Ruth does place in her age group, and that is pretty often, she accepts each award as if it was her first, with a smile that just radiates. Her most prized treasure is the trophy she won as the first overall female finisher at the Copper Wire 5K in 1994. It was an exciting feeling finishing first and one she will hold onto forever.

A regular fixture on the local running scene, Ruth averages 35 races a year. High on her list of favorites is the Boilermaker because of the large crowd support all the way. She also participates in the Oswego County Run For Fun Series and looks forward to the dinner sponsored by Mike and Mary O’Brien and the opportunity to chat with many of her friends and fellow runners, outside of a shorts and t-shirt environment.

Running marathons is something Ruth particularly loves. She ran her first in 1991 at the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington DC. She was instantly hooked and it became a goal to qualify for Boston. It took several tries, but working with a trainer she achieved her goal by finishing the 1995 City of Pittsburgh Marathon in 3:52:19. She participated in the 100th running of the Boston Marathon and afterwards, decided to ease up on her training and just enjoy each marathon. After reading an article in Runner’s World on running 50 marathons in 50 states, Ruth took that on as a goal. She hopes to finish all 50 states by the time she reaches 60 and currently has 27 states to her credit (and 33 marathons in total). She would like to complete at least five a year, with Hawaii being her final one. She is saving all of her marathon t-shirts and when she completes her goal, she will have her good friend Sam Familo make her a quilt out of them as a precious keepsake.

Recently Ruth’s 50 state marathon goal had to be put on hold. In January of this year she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Telling family and friends was one of the hardest parts of all, as she was more concerned about them than for herself. She had surgery in February and then began chemotherapy treatment. The chemotherapy was another large hurdle for her but she recently finished her last session. She credits family and friends for helping her by providing her with love and support. "To help me through this very difficult time I have surrounded myself with uplifting people. It has meant so much to me, everyone tells me how they are thinking of me and saying prayers for me, wishing the very best for me and just talking with me."

While dealing with her own personal crisis, Ruth has continued to work, taking care of patients as she has for the past 33 years. As a nurse, she has seen her share of traumas and heart-wrenching situations and feels there is always someone who has it worse. Helping others is rewarding and keeps Ruth going. She takes many of her race t-shirts to work and gives them to patients whose clothing is torn or needs to be cut off. When they leave the hospital in a race shirt, someone is always quick to point out that ‘Ruthie must have taken care of you.’

With her treatments behind her, Ruth is anxious to begin training for her marathons again. She has been running in area races, including the Race for the Cure in which she was the Honorary Survivor. Now she is focused on building up her base and expects her first marathon back to be this fall in South Dakota. Hopefully when training for this fall marathon, her running companion Tyler (the family dog) will be back on the roads with her. He recently tore a tendon in his leg and like his ‘mom’, is just itching to run some long miles!

When Ruth is not running, she spends time at home in Pennellville with her husband Larry, who is her biggest marathon supporter. They have two children Amy and Matt. She enjoys aerobics, lifting weights, canoeing, triathlons, cross country skiing and spending time in her pool. Occasionally she indulges in a summer pastime, having a fish sandwich and hot fudge sundae at Rudy’s in Oswego, while sitting and looking out at beautiful Lake Ontario.

July, 2002