Christi Dee Is Reaching Monumental Marathon Milestones
Writer / Julie Yates
Photography Provided
It turns out that people really can catch the “running bug.” Just ask Westfield resident Christi Dee, an Abbott World Marathon Majors Six Star Finisher. The longtime runner has competed in 39 marathons held not only in the United States, but also in several foreign countries. The sport wasn’t always a passion in her life. Initially she had to be coaxed into doing it.
“In 2006 I had a group of eight friends who wanted us all to run the 500 Festival Mini-Marathon together,” Dee says. “I thought they were insane, but in the end peer pressure won out. The feeling I had at the finish line made me want to chase it again. It all started from there.”
In 2008 Dee ran her first marathon in Chicago. Today, entry is through a lottery system, but at that time, if an individual was one of the first to log into the site, they had a place at the start line. It was then that Dee heard about the Abbott World Marathon Majors. She was intrigued by the idea of having a bucket list of events to run.
Sponsored by Abbott, a health care company, the World Marathon Majors Six Star race series is a set of some of the most famous marathons in the world. According to Dee, below .001% of marathon runners ever finish them all. The three held in the United States are the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, Tata Consultancy Services New York City Marathon and Boston Athletic Association Boston Marathon.
“On Monday, April 17 I ran the 127th Boston Marathon, which completed my Six Star journey,” Dee says. “This achievement is something less than 12,000 people worldwide, and less than 1,300 American women, have done. The Boston Marathon is the strictest to get into. Unlike the other marathons with a lottery system, it has a time requirement. It is the Super Bowl for runners. People train for a lifetime to qualify for it. If you get in, you feel like you have made it.”
The three other marathons in the series are the BMW Berlin Marathon, Tata Consultancy Services London Marathon and Tokyo Marathon. Even though the drastic time changes were a challenge, Dee didn’t let that deter her from participating. She acclimated herself even when first getting on a plane by sleeping when it was nighttime at her destination.
“The time change in Tokyo affected me most because it’s such a dramatic difference,” she says. “But I thrive off any marathon setting and the vibe. You are surrounded by people that you share something in common with. You have all worked hard at a training cycle to get there.”
Dee hopes that the discipline and dedication she has shown toward accomplishing her goal, even when setbacks occurred, is a good example to others. She has found ways to give back to the running community by participating in Ainsley’s Angels, recently pushing a stroller for an individual with Down’s syndrome across a race finish line. In the future she would like to complete marathons in continents she has not visited.
“Running a marathon is so humbling,” she says. “It can break you down, yet make you feel on top of the world when finishing. I don’t know if I’ll ever get any faster, so I am finding fulfillment in other ways. I love to volunteer at smaller races. For me it’s the camaraderie in supporting other runners by inspiring and encouraging them.”
For more information on the Abbott World Marathon Majors, visit worldmarathonmajors.com.
Follow Dee on Instagram @this_blonde_runs.
