A half marathon is approximately 13 miles long, the equivalent to running to the Galleria Mall from MHS. And in a standard sized swimming pool, that is the equivalent to 468 down and back laps. On Sunday, Apr. 10, Kristen Paquette, senior, will be running in the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon in Downtown St. Louis.

The GO! St. Louis Half Marathon started in 2003 and more than 12,500 participants registered last year making it one of the largest half marathon fields in the United States. This year, the race cap has been raised to 15,000 due to the large amount of participants.

“My mom saw a flyer a few years back about a Team in Training recruiting meeting and decided to get involved,” Paquette said.

Team in Training is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s sports charity training program. They provide training programs, fund raising, mentors, teammates and clinics for participants.

“I’ve been running at least four days a week. Team in Training makes it really easy for you,” Paquette said. “They give you a calendar that says what mileage you should run each day and what days you should rest or cross train.”

They also have ‘group trainings’ every few weeks where everyone in the group meets up and runs together, Paquette said.

Paquette also ran in the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco two years ago.

“Ever since [the marathon] I get emails on upcoming endurance events, so I decided to participate again since this one was close to home,” Paquette said.

Not only did Paquette decide to run the half marathon because of proximity, but she also chose to run it because of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s cause.

“The main reason I do it is the cause. I’ve lost too many people to cancer to do nothing about it,” Paquette said.

Paquette will be running the half marathon alongside her mom and Amanda Reiss, senior.

Shelby Nebrig, senior and friend of both Paquette and Reiss, supports them running in the half marathon.

“I think it’s good that they are doing it together because it’s always easier to feel motivated when you have a friend along with you and it’s something you’ll always remember as friends,” Nebrig said.

While Paquette hopes her training will pay off, she’s really just in it for fun.

“I wouldn’t even consider myself a runner, I just do what I can,” Paquette said.