A Marine spouse is readying to run the 48th Marine Corps Marathon while her husband is deployed overseas. She is logging dozens of miles, all while taking care of an infant and working full-time.
Helen Taylor was planning to run the marathon last year with her husband, Capt. Eric Taylor, “but found out I was pregnant during training,” she told WTOP.
She pushed it off for a year and cheered her husband across the finish line.
Capt. Taylor is now deployed aboard the USS Bataan, and Helen has been training while taking care of her 9-month-old son.
“It’s challenging, but I’m lucky with a good community of friends and spouses here on base that are willing to watch him for me for a little bit,” Helen Taylor told WTOP. “Or I stroller him around while I run.”
Helen Taylor is a Laurel, Maryland, native and chose this year’s Marine Corps Marathon as her first long-distance race.
“It’s amazing to watch the city just kind of rally around it, like it’s an event in the city and people just go out and watch these people run and it’s really cool,” she said. “I think the runners get a lot of energy from it.”
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She also chose the run for her obvious connection to the military aspect of the race.
“Being able to run with the Marine Corps while my husband’s deployed with the Marine Corps … it makes me feel like I’m part of something with him as well.”
She ran her 20-mile training run Saturday and is preparing to taper her training until the big race day.
One aspect of the race she has been preparing for is the emotional toll of the Wear Blue mile, where pictures of service members who died in the line of duty will be displayed.
“Our very good friend passed away in an aircraft mishap last year. So having his face there last year at the marathon for my husband — it is obviously very special to see him and it definitely puts a point on what you’re running for,” said Helen Taylor.
She will not be able to speak directly to her husband right after the race because communication to the Bataan is sparse, but she has gotten plenty of advice from him as well as a promise of some message after the race.
“I’ll definitely send him some emails and some pictures afterwards. So I’m sure he’ll do his best to try to get a message to me,” she said.
WTOP wants to know why you’re planning to run and what is motivating you to train for this event. WTOP will choose some of these stories to feature in an upcoming on-air and online special report. If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell, tell us about it.
