Local fitness trainer qualifies for her third Boston Marathon

Written By BRIAN LOCKHART

Long-distance running is an activity that requires physical conditioning, determination, and mental preparedness.

Hannah Sine, owner of Shelburne's Towne Fitness, has what it takes to run the long distances.

Sine qualified to run in the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, which takes place on April 21, 2025. She will join 25,000 other long-distance runners from over 50 countries to participate in one of the best-known, and most prestigious long-distance races in the world.

Running for 12 years, Sine began her long-distance running journey later in life than most people. She has always been active and played sports, then started running and enjoyed the sport, as well as the feeling of satisfaction when completing a race.

Sine is no beginner in long-distance runs. She has competed in the Boston Marathon two times – in 2016 and 2018 – and completed a 100 km run in Australia.

“To qualify, you're given a period of time in which you need to run a race,” Sine said. “It has to be a sanctioned qualifier, so when you sign up for a race you have to make sure it's sanctioned by the Boston Marathon Association or the Boston Athletic Association. Each age group is given a specific time in which they have to run the race in, in order to apply for the Boston Marathon. Once you get your time, they open the window in September and they announce if you have a qualifying time, and you can apply. For my age group, I had to qualify with a time under four hours, five minutes.”

Sine ran a marathon in Georgina and finished with a time of 3 hours 51 minutes 41 seconds.

Training for a marathon is a huge undertaking starting weeks before an event. Sine does everything from running to dry land training and watching what she eats.

“During a marathon cycle, we run from five to six days a week,” Sine explained.

Sine has a knee injury so she trains in a way that minimizes the impact on that knee. During training, she runs on pavement because the actual race takes place on pavement.

“During training, you try and emulate what you are going to do on race day,” Sine said. “I knew the marathon isn't going to be on hilly terrain so I didn't have to train on hills. I had to train to be consistent.”

Sine is proud to be older than the typical marathon runner.

“I ran my first Boston Marathon when I was 50,” Sine said. “This will be my third one and I'll be 58 when I run it.”

To avoid mass confusion when 25,000 people start the same race, the elite world-class runners start at the head of the pack. Every runner has a chip in their bib that records when they leave the start line and when they cross the finish so everyone is electronically timed down to the second.

Sine first began running for cathartic reasons, however, her husband realized her potential and encouraged her to work harder and suggested if she could get her time down, she could qualify for the Boston Marathon.

The marathon will be a gruelling test of physical fitness, determination, and mental preparation.