Reilly, Roy could be first in line for crown
When Shirley Reilly was born prematurely, her spine did not form correctly, rendering her paralyzed from the waist down. So competing in athletics while confined to a wheelchair always has been a part of the 21-year-old's life.
Diane Roy spent the first 17 years of her life with a passion for sports and adventure. Then a car accident left Roy, 36, without the use of her legs, but it didn't destroy her love of competition.
Both women got into wheelchair racing from different perspectives, but both are aiming for the same thing -- to win the Boston Marathon's wheelchair division Monday. The goal eluded them last year -- Roy finished second and Reilly third -- but winner Edith Hunkeler won't be competing this year due to a broken femur suffered at last year's world championships in the Netherlands.
After last year's Marathon, Roy went on to win the worlds, then set a Canadian record and personal best of 1:43:49 in the Oita Marathon in Japan. So she feels ready to take on Boston.
"For sure, my goal is to win this race," said the resident of Hatley, Quebec. "I know I can do a good race, but there will be some other women who are very strong."
Also in the field is Switzerland's Sandra Graf, the world championship runner-up, New York City Marathon winner Amanda McGrory of Kennett Square, Pa., and two-time Paralympics medal winner Wakako Tsuchida of Japan.
Roy, who works as an executive assistant in a real estate office, cut back her hours after the 2004 Athens Olympics to devote more time to training. She also spent two weeks in Orlando, Fla., where she trained more than 30 kilometers per day.
She has competed in Boston "on and off" since 1998. "I like the course because it can be fast," she said. "But the last 10K is very hard. There are a lot of hills, and that is tough for me."
Roy became a paraplegic in 1988 and began racing four years later when a friend suggested she try it.
"I did it and loved it right away," she said.
Roy's second-place finish last year was her second in a row at Boston -- in 2005, she finished in 1:50:53 behind two-time winner Cheri Blauwet. Roy finished sixth in 2004, in 1:54:04. She has won Oita twice (2004-05) and the Montreal and Las Vegas marathons once each. She competed in the 1996 (Atlanta) and 2000 (Sydney) Paralympics, before taking home bronze medals in the 400 meters and 1,500 meters from Athens.
In last year's worlds, Roy edged Graf in a photo finish. The two were credited with the same time (1:44:23), but Roy was awarded the gold medal. She added two more medals -- silver in the 1,500 (3:42.37), and bronze in the 5,000 (13:41.55). She continued the fall season with two podium finishes, third at New York in 1:54:38 and third at Oita in 1:43:49.
Unlike Roy, Reilly doesn't have to travel to train in warm climates because she lives in Tucson, where she's a student at the University of Arizona.
She has competed over the Hopkinton-to-Copley Square course twice.
"I enjoy the course," she said. "It's pretty difficult but I come back every year."
Reilly raced in her first marathon at 14, and was a junior national champion. She competed in the 2004 Paralympics at 19 and came home from Athens with two fifth-place finishes (400 and 100). Reilly is a frequent racer in national road races such as the Lilac Bloomsday 12K (winner in 2005 and 2006) in Spokane, Wash., Bolder Boulder (Colo.) 10K (winner in 2005 and 2006), and the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. She had her best marathon time when she won the 2005 Los Angeles Marathon in 1:51:51. Reilly also won the 2005 Columbus Marathon (1:54:22).
Asked who her biggest challenger will be Monday, Reilly was straightforward.
"Everyone," she said.
