RHS spanish teacher Maria Pitts recently managed to run her first marathon in a decade, despite significant setbacks.

Although she had trained heavily, she was uncertain whether or not she’d be able to make it to the finish line, due to a previous injury.

“It was such an incredible achievement for me and an accomplishment, because it took so much for me to get to the start, I wasn’t sure if I was able to finish,” she said. “But then I was determined that I’m going to finish this no matter what the time is and it was one of the best feelings there.”

Alexander, Maria’s son, is proud of how his mother accomplished her goal.

“I feel really inspired by my mom and her amazing accomplishment,” Alex said. “Her determination and persistence in training for the marathon has made me respect her tremendously.”

Cassie Hartley, Maria’s friend and fellow running mate from MRTT (Moms Run This Town) Running Club believed that Pitts trained hard to reach her goal.

“She put in lots of miles, some with ladies in our running club,” Hartley said. “She also completed a lot of workouts on her own.”

Senior spanish student Kelly Pratt, is glad that Pitts chose to run the California International Marathon.

“I’m really proud of her for running. It seems like something she likes to do,” Pratt said. “She’s strong and she always likes to put herself out there.”

Although she has gone through many struggles in the process, she managed to overcome them.

“The hardships that I went through to get to the start affected me,” Maria said. “And this was more than racing for a certain time – it was more about finishing. I was so determined.”
Alex is proud of his mother for overcoming her injury and racing the entire, way.

“I knew finishing meant so much to her, because it meant she was able to overcome any obstacle life threw at her,” Alex said. “I was so proud of her — a marathon is such a difficult task and I couldn’t be more proud of my mom.”

Hartley knew Maria had the perseverance to keep pushing forward, while facing all of her personal hardships, in order to complete the marathon.

“I knew she would complete the whole thing. I just wasn’t sure how her body would hold out and how long it would take to complete it,” Hartley said. “Even with injuries and family hardships, her motto was ‘Resolve to Finish’ so I knew she would complete this marathon.”

Maria feels she has become a stronger person with all of the hardships she has faced.

She believes couldn’t have done it if it wasn’t for her friends and family supporting her.

“I am a much stronger person physically, mentally and emotionally,” Maria said. “Don’t sweat the small stuff. It doesn’t matter what life brings to you, you can still accomplish whatever you set your mind to.”