NEWTON, Mass--For nearly 12,000 runners, the 102nd Boston Marathon ended the same day it began.
But for a 50-year-old New York City woman with multiple sclerosis, the race went overnight and well into the next afternoon.
And yesterday's long, slow walk to the finish line--which she reached at 6:52 p.m., completing the race in just under 31 hours--was not the first time Zoe Koplowitz had walked a 26.2-mile course with two custom-made canes and Guardian Angels as escorts.
"Kids see it and begin believing that, `Hey, that old broad can put in 26 miles, maybe I can make something of myself and my life,'" said Koplowitz, who has walked the route of the New York City Marathon for the past 10 years.
"Either you have your dream or you live your dream," said Koplowitz, as a friend rubbed her sore, swollen feet and treated the heat rash on her ankle. "People need to know that success isn't always about winning."
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