Conquering Marathons & Mountains

BOSTON (FOX25, myfoxboston) - Having grown up in the small town of Webster, Jeanne Stawiecki always dreamed of running the Boston Marathon.

“I haven’t lived my life. I am going to do something fabulous, and I am going to look back on it and say, ‘Damn, I did the Boston Marathon,’” Stawiecki says.

That was nearly 20 years ago, just before Jeanne’s 40th birthday. It was time for her to start training.

“I ran out the door and coughed up a lung,” Stawiecki says.

This heavy smoker quickly realized training alone wouldn’t help her achieve her goal. She needed to put an end to a bad habit.

“I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs in my late 30’s without stopping to take a break,” Stawiecki says.

Jeanne smoked 2 packs a day for decades. When she stopped smoking and focused on her training, her dreams were realized.

“Oh my gosh! To come across that finish line and realize I had succeeded at running a marathon, a two pack-a-day smoker who couldn’t run up a flight of stairs, it was incredible! It was unbelievable, I was walking on clouds,” said Stawiecki.

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The starting line of the Boston Marathon was also where Jeanne’s transformation began. She went on to run seven Boston Marathons. As amazing as that is, that is only half of her story.

“I thought, you know what? I’m going to climb a mountain,” Stawiecki says.

A lofty goal, but Jeanne put her mind and body to it.

“I remember looking at it and thinking, you’ve got to be crazy to climb that. Furthest thing from my mind. But I fell in love with the Himalayas,” Stawiecki says.

Jeanne spent a year preparing to climb to the top of Mount Everest. But it wasn’t easy, she failed her first attempt.

“I developed a vocal chord dysfunction. I had breathing difficulties,” says Stawiecki.

Another year went by, then she tried again. Once again she was having trouble breathing, and had to turn around.

After two failed attempts at climbing Everest, Jeanne took time off from climbing, to focus back on running. This time, she would run and finish a marathon on each continent.

Today, she holds a Guinness Record for being the fastest woman to finish those seven marathons. But there was still one goal left unachieved: to conquer Mount Everest.

“I realized there is a quality about success, and that is what I focused on for a year before the third attempt,” Stawiecki says.

On May 22, 2007, Jeanne accomplished what she set out to do. She finally reached the top of Mount Everest, and now holds another World Record. She is the oldest woman to scale the highest peaks on all seven continents.

“I’m still in shock. People say to me, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing!’ and it’s like, yeah it is. Because it has been this progression. I am Happier than I have ever been in my life” Stawiecki says.

Jeanne’s life is one that was dramatically changed, all thanks to that one decision to run the Boston Marathon.