MOUNT VERNON, IN (WSIL) -- In 2017, Jessica ZIrkelbach began running as a training partner for a friend. After running a marathon, she realized she might be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Jessica lost her dad as a sophomore, and he was a runner. Jessica's dad once ran the Boston Marathon, so competing in the race became a goal for Zirkelbach.
In 2018, she finished a marathon in a time of 3 hours and 38 minutes, with the qualifying time being 3 hours and 40 minutes. But due to the amount of applicants, Jessica missed the cut by 30 seconds.
In September 2019, Jessica ran a race of 3 hours and 32 minutes, and the qualifying time for her age and gender was changed to 3 hours and 35 minutes. She qualified again. That was a Sunday. On Monday she learned from her doctor that she had breast cancer.
"I want to find good out of the whole thing, right, and if that good was somehow I raised strong independent kids, that's great. If that good was I helped someone else out along the way, that was great. But for me to display strength and grace for this, I needed to take care of myself, and running was my way to stay normal through this whole thing. So I continued to run," Zirkelbach said.
