20 people, 20 reasons to run

We asked 20 people why they are running on Monday from Hopkinton to Boston's Back Bay -- and we got as many reasons. Here they are:

Brittan Wilson
Age: 30
Hometown: Kansas City
Profession: studying to be an environmental scientist
Why? "Basically it always was one of those life goals. Ski the alps, go skydiving, run a marathon, scuba in Australia...I quit smoking last year and decided if I was ever to run a marathon it should be Boston."

Jacqui Kapinowski
Age: 45
Hometown: Point Pleasant, NJ
Why? "I have completed 39 marathons. I ran 19 marathons, pushed my walker at 3 marathons including Boston, Competed 17 in my wheelchair. I have always been athletic and love the sport of running, love being outdoors, and how great it makes you feel. I have met a lot of great people through running. I always loved a challenge."

Jim Young
Age: 44
Hometown: North Potomac, Md.
Profession: sales manager
Why? "I got the call to participate on the Homes For Our Troops team after someone on the team got injured. How could one not want to support our HFOT in some way, shape, or form? This organization does an incredible job with changing severely injured troops' lives to help them cope from traumatic injuries in their own homes."

Steve Muchnick Age: 51
Hometown: Ellicott City, Md.
Profession: information technology consultant.
Why? "I suppose that during the middle-age years, it's natural to feel that one's notions of ‘success' and ‘determination' may need re-honing. The marathon is a formidable goal to master, demanding great dedication and self-awareness from its participants. Learning to revisit those personal skills has proved an exhilarating experience for me."

Frank Muller III
Age: 41
Hometown: Tulsa, Okla.
Profession: account manager
Why? "I set a goal shortly before I was 40 to run a marathon in every state. Boston was always part of the goal, as it is the most famous. Overall I do not have the time to train in such a way that would allow me to get to an actual qualifying time and running for a charity was the perfect opportunity for me. 2008 Boston will be my 13th marathon on my quest. I am on a 6-7 marathon pace each year so the goal is very realistic. I have been very fortunate in life."

Melissa LeVangie
Age: 37
Hometown: Halifax
Profession: arborist
Why? "To support an important resource for all living things: trees. Particularly for the care of the trees on the Esplanade. As a certified arborist … I feel it is important to do what I can, when I can, to support the care of trees, especially in our community environments."

Andrew Jewett
Age: 25
Hometown: Belmont
Profession: unemployed banker
Why? "My grandfather was an avid runner/marathoner and it was something that I always held in great regard. I never ran much, other than for training, but it was something that I felt was in my blood and a big part of my life growing up. Having played sports all my life and played hockey in college, I desperately missed the structure and regiment of a strict training schedule and athletic goal in my daily life. Having grown up in Boston, the Marathon was always a big deal and had always been something I wanted to do, but never really thought about until now."

Deb Hawkins
Age: 39
Hometown: Ashland
Profession: business analyst
Why? "I have run a couple of marathons in the past and have done an Ironman, but this particular marathon has special meaning. I lost my dad 11 years ago in a plane crash. He was a runner for as long as I can recall. I have designed some running shoes through Nikeid.com in tribute to him and his memory. Those are shoes I have trained in and will run Boston in so that he can come along for the ride."

Nicholas A. Giordano Jr.
Age: 33
Hometown: Plainville
Why? "This year I am running to give thanks for my health. Shortly after the 2005 marathon (a marathon where I proposed to my girlfriend at the finish line) I was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. I always like to challenge myself and a marathon is the ultimate way. Also by being part of an organization like the American Liver Foundation you get to be part of something that is so much bigger than yourself."

Cynthia "Cyndi" A. Springford:
Age: 36
Hometown: Plaistow, N.H.
Profession: fitness instructor
Why? "Once upon a time, I was a sedentary young adult who hated exercise. When I quit smoking cigarettes in May 1992, I was afraid of gaining weight. My friend dragged me to an aerobics class shortly thereafter and I was hooked. I am running the 2008 Boston Marathon to test my limits, body, mind, and spirit, while using my talents and abilities to help raise money for those less fortunate than myself. Who wouldn't want to take part in the most prestigious marathon there is?"

Safder Kartoglu
Age: 81
Hometown: Zonguldek, Turkey.
Why? Believed to be the oldest man running. Kartoglu hopes to set a record for being the oldest man to run a marathon in every continent.

Neil Weygandt
Age: 61
Hometown: Drexel Hill, Pa.
Why? Weygandt intends to set a record of his own: If he finishes tomorrow, it will his 42d Boston Marathon, the longest-known streak of consecutive finishes.

Dale Eckert
Age: 52
Hometown: Newburyport
Why? After 35 rounds of radiation, eight rounds of chemotherapy, and one operation to treat his brain cancer, Eckert says finishing will be its own reward.

Jamie Simpson
Age: 42
Hometown: Boston.
Why? Simpson has lived with the HIV virus for the last 10 years. "I aspire to be standing up by the end," said Simpson, who takes a potent cocktail of drugs every day.

Kate Snee
Age: 26
Hometown: Oakland, N.J.
Why? Snee is running to support victims of domestic abuse by raising money for the Boston-based Casa Myrna Vazquez. "I may experience some difficulties finishing the 26.2 miles, but I will remember that the pain is only temporary and it's nothing at all like the emotional and/or physical pain the women and children of Casa Myrna Vazquez face."

Tommy Ozbolt
Age: 24
Hometown: Boston.
Why? Ozbolt, who works at the James P. Timilty Middle School in Roxbury, wants to honor a former student, Steven Odom, an eighth grader who was shot to death in October. He is trying to raise $12,694 to match the digits of Odum's birthday.

Jenna Klane
Age: 23
Hometown: Easton
Why? Klane will be running her first marathon with her mother, also a first-timer. "When the training got harder, she started telling people I dragged her into this," said Klane, who has raised about $3,000 for Bottom Line, which helps poor Boston children get into college.

Ellen Finnie Duranceau
Age: 48
Hometown: Arlington.
Why? The MIT librarian has fused running with blogging. "When nouns start to disappear, and I lose the ability to turn on my own television (sad, but true), it's refreshing to have some goal that reminds me that I can still take on a challenge," she wrote in one entry titled "Why Run a Marathon."

Scott J. Martin
Age: 36
Hometown: Lowell
Why? Martin is raising money to support victims of liver disease such as his father-in-law, who is waiting for a liver transplant. "There couldn't be a better reason to run than to save someone's life."