Salem woman to run Boston Marathon for charity

By Sean Teehan, Town Correspondent

After running the Boston Marathon three times, the prospect of the 26.2-mile dash still gave Melissa Shea the jitters last week when she thought about today's race.

"Nervous doesn't explain it," Shea, 45, of Salem said last Thursday.

Like many of the thousands who lined up at the starting line in Hopkinton this morning, Shea is running for a charity. One, she said, she may not have known about if it weren't for the race.

"In the beginning I didn't know anything about the charity," Shea said of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a Cambridge-based group that supports economic rights, environmental justice, and other issues around the world, according to their website.

Shea became aware of the UUSC when she had only five weeks to obtain a number reserving her a place in the run for which she spent a great deal of time training. While she has ran the marathon for the National Kidney Foundation, the Boston Police Runners Club, and John Hancock, all spots on the teams were full this year.

"I had trained all winter and there were only five weeks left, if I didn't get a number then, I wasn't going to get one," She said.

Shea searched the internet and found the UUSC were raffling off a number. She entered and won.

After joining the team, Shea became more involved with the charity, which receives no funding from the government or the Unitarian Universalist Association, according to the UUSC website.

"They seem to do a lot to help out," Shea said of the charity which, she said, has donated money and services to disaster areas after last year's earthquake in Haiti and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. "I wasn't aware such a charity exists."

Although said her training has prepared her for the race, he still acknowledged that "26.2 miles is such a long way to run." Her goal this year is to finish under four hours, she said.

As in past years, she predicted, the motivation to make it to the finish line as her family watches will trump anxiety.

"Once you hit that finish the sense of accomplishment is unbelievable," Shea said.