Before the 2025 Boston Marathon, CITGO sponsored student services chair Denise Dalton, assistant principal Matt Doherty and teacher Megan Idell to run in the 2023 Boston Marathon. This year, teacher Marek Dron proudly represented Lemont at the prestigious race.
Since December, Dron had been rigorously preparing for the big day.
“I pretty much got going right away. The nice thing about the Boston Marathon is that their website has training plans available. So, I followed the one that worked perfectly,” Dron said.
Previously, Dron had never participated in a race of this extent. So, the Boston Marathon was no small feat. However, Dron had some experience running alongside guidance counselor Trisha Weber last fall.
“We all, as a staff, get an invitation to go [to the Boston Marathon] through CITGO because [LHS has a] partnership with the CITGO Innovation Academy. And, Mrs. Weber and I had just done our first half marathon. It was something we challenged each other to do, so we did that in October in Naperville,” Dron said.
The idea of running in the marathon was not only a goal, but also an honor considering the amount of people who apply to run every year. Dron wanted to do the best he could for everyone wishing they could run the race themselves.
“Everyone talks about [the Boston Marathon] being the best experience for runners. I still kind of feel imposter syndrome. Like, I don’t exactly belong, but I’m looking forward to taking in the entire atmosphere because it’s supposed to be a once in a lifetime thing,. ” Dron said.
Running the marathon and ending with a time of 4:24 was very fulfilling for Dron, despite knowing he wasn’t going to meet his personal best time considering he faced a leg injury only a couple months ago. However, this didn’t worry him. Dron just wanted to do his best and be able to say he did everything he could.
“I actually had a number in mind, but that’s since gone because of everything I’ve been battling here,” Dron said. “I just like knowing I gave my best effort.”
