Clara Santucci made her marathon debut in Boston in 2011 and her time of 2:29:54 remains her personal best. Since then she has been very consistent and in the last three years has won Pittsburgh twice, placed fifth in Chicago and third in Duluth. In 2014 she was on the U.S. team at the World Half Marathon Championships and placed 34th in 1:12:22. Santucci was an All-American cross country runner at West Virginia University and finished top-10 twice in the 10,000m. She graduated from the University of West Virginia with an exercise physiology degree. Santucci says her proudest running moment was when she ran the 2011 Boston Marathon, “I had executed perfectly, run through the pain after Heartbreak Hill, and crossed the line as the fastest American marathon debutant under 25.”

Santucci grew up in rural West Virginia with five brothers and sisters and attributes her success to an active childhood running, biking and swimming. “I chose Boston because it’s one of the best marathons in the world, and it also has special meaning to me having been my debut marathon in 2011,” says Santucci. “It set the bar high for the rest of my career and I’m happy to be returning. I’d like to put myself in contention to make the World Marathon Team for USA, which would mean placing in the top ten overall elite females. With such great memories of my first marathon here, I hope to recapture the magic of the Boston Marathon and set myself among the best in the world.” Santucci trains south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she lives, and in Morgantown, West Virginia, where her coach, Sean Cleary, is located. She says, “Seeing the accumulation of small positive decisions having a big impact in my training and racing has taught me to apply that to the rest of my life pursuits.” Santucci is a Pittsburgh Pirates fan and she and her husband, Jason, are working on visiting all 59 US National Parks.

“To #BeBoston means to believe in ourselves and pursue the best within us.”