A long trek toward a marathon

Better late than never.

The old saying rings true for Huntington Beach resident Lora Irwin as she prepares to finish what she started 10 years ago by running in the Surf City Half Marathon in February.

The mother of three has been training for weeks to run in her first marathon — an item on her bucket list she would have checked off a decade ago if things had gone as planned. Irwin had joined a running group and was training for the Los Angeles Marathon when she started to get pain in her feet.

“I was literally on my hands and knees in pain,” she said.

After visiting a podiatrist and undergoing X-rays, Irwin was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the ligament that connects the heel and toes. Months later, Irwin was ready to run again, but was discouraged by how far behind she was.

Fast forward 10 years, one marriage and three children, and Irwin is back at it. Although she missed her goal of completing a marathon before she turned 40, she is determined to follow through. Irwin started training in November by walking, progressed to running short distances and now is running eight miles at a time.

“We just started taking it day by day,” she said.

Finding time to run hasn’t been easy with a family and a full-time job, but Irwin said she makes time, or brings the kids along if she has to — her 5- and 6-year-old sons riding their bikes and pushing her 9-month-old in a jogger stroller. Irwin said she’s not letting her busy schedule be her excuse.

“I just think about finishing and how I’m going to feel when I walk across the finish line,” Irwin said.

Her training has given the family more time to spend together doing physical activity. On Sundays, the whole family goes out together, husband Chad riding his bike. Her training has gotten the family out of the house more, Chad Irwin said. Her endeavor has also touched two of her brothers to become more physically active.

“It’s really been an inspiration to the family,” Chad Irwin said.

Inspiring her sons is something she wanted to do, Lora Irwin said.

“I’m hoping by sticking with this, I will teach my kids that it doesn’t matter how busy you are, how old you are, what you look like, or what shape you are in — you can do anything you set your mind to,” she said.