You may know her from Corde à Sauter or from having that je ne sais quoi, but did you know that this multi-tasking teacher also runs? Yes, you heard that right. Cross country, indoor track, outdoor track AND Ms. Cooper-Leary walk into a bar…
On Sunday, April 2, Ms. Cooper-Leary ran a beautiful 26.2 miles! But this was light work for her; this was one out of 13 marathons that she has completed. However, this one was a bit special.
For years, Leary has had it on her bucket list to run in the Paris marathon, a marathon that goes all over the city with more than 60,000 people. And she finally did it after training for only 3 months. To quote Leary, “I’m really proud of finishing the race 12 years after my last marathon with a very short training period.”
However, Leary ran (pun intended) a bit of an obstacle on that 17th mile, as most marathon runners do. The jagged edges of the Paris cobblestone streets cut at her feet. It took a physical toll on her but it did not deter her. Cooper-Leary kept her head held high and went on to check it off her bucket list.
Any Riverdale runners should know her training route; 20 mile runs up Tibbet’s Brooke. It’s very aesthetically pleasing as it is a park containing fishing, hiking, sports and more.
We’re all looking forward to Leary going onto her fourteenth marathon, the location to be determined. Maybe, just maybe, Bob Montera, who runs sixty miles each week and is Cooper-Leary’s running partner, has got some competition in him!
