One Manatee participant’s Boston Marathon dream came true, another is already dreaming of her next race

Noelle Cartier realized her dream of running the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Cartier, of Palmetto, said her first Boston Marathon may not have been her fastest race, but it was her smartest race. She finished the race in 3:45:14 to finish 11,274th overall, 3,494th among women and 562nd in her division.

It was her 12th marathon in her running career and her second time qualifying for Boston.

Cartier gave credit to fellow marathon runner and Manatee County resident Rae Ann Darling Reed for her advice that helped Cartier qualify for this year’s race.

“She gave good advice about the weather and going out too fast and racing smart, so I really focused on that,” Cartier said. “She’s amazing.”

And focus she did. Cartier said she accomplished her goal of running a negative split — or running the second half of the split faster than the first. Though it was a hot day in Boston, even for a Florida resident, she joked, she was able to push through some of the challenging miles of the course.

“I meditated on my training, my experience, the sacrifices and support of the people that have helped me realize the dream of running Boston.”

She cried at the starting line and again when she crossed the finish line, and said it was an “amazing running experience.”

Manatee High School Cross Country coach Rae Ann Darling Reed of Bradenton also ran in Boston and is already looking forward to her next race.

But, she said, Monday’s 121st Boston Marathon “wasn’t a great race” for her.

“I knew at about mile eight it was going to be rough,” Darling Reed said, noting she used a new training regiment to prepare for this year’s marathon.

She powered through the next 18 miles and still crossed the finish line in less than four hours.

Darling Reed finished the Boston Marathon in 3:49:17 to finish 12,517th overall, 4,171st among women and 703rd in her division.

For now, she said she’s going to take a month off and do some cross-training. Her focus has started shifting to what’s coming up next.

Darling Reed has already signed up for the Dopey Challenge in January 2018 as part of the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend. The Dopey Challenge consists of four races: the 5K, 10K, half and full marathon, for a total of 48.6 miles over four days.

After completing the Dopey Challenge, Darling Reed said, she’ll be back in Boston to give it another go.

Other Manatee County participants in the Boston Marathon included:

▪  Jennifer Tullio, 45, finished with a time of 4:00:42, to place 815th in the division, 15,783rd overall and 5,974th among women.

▪  Rebecca Cosgrove, 51, of Bradenton, finished in 4:13:40, placing 642nd in her division, 18,164th overall and 7,392nd among women.

▪  Greg Schultz, 56, of Parrish, finished with a time of 3:59:24 to finish 15,365th overall, 9,673rd among men and 870th in his division.

The overall winner at the marathon was Geoffrey Kirui, of Kenya, who finished in 2:09:37. The top woman was Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat, who finished in 2:21:52.

David Wilson contributed to this article.

This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 9:33 PM with the headline "One Manatee participant’s Boston Marathon dream came true, another is already dreaming of her next race."