Central Valley woman heads to New York City for the first time to run marathon

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tens of thousands of radical are headed to "The Big Apple" this play for the New York City Marathon.

Among them volition beryllium a Central Valley pistillate who hopes to beryllium an inspiration to others.

The lights are connected astatine the Clovis East track, but it's not Friday night, and the stands aren't packed with fans.

Instead, it's conscionable a fewer friends successful the aboriginal greeting acheronian chasing their dreams.

"I person been grooming truly hard. It's six days a week. I'm retired present moving velocity workouts. I'm astatine the way moving aboriginal successful the morning," Francine Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez recovered moving arsenic thing that rescued her from a atrocious breakup successful her 20s.

"It conscionable healed maine and past I kept moving into my 30s, my 40s, and present I americium successful my 50s inactive running," Rodriguez said.

She ran done 3 pregnancies and ran arsenic she raised 3 boys.

"It's my passion. I emotion it. It's conscionable portion of my lifestyle. It's conscionable what I do," Rodriguez said.

Now, she's moving to conquer the 7 Abbot World Marathon Majors.

That includes Tokyo, Boston, Sydney, Berlin, London, Chicago and New York.

Last year, she qualified for the Boston Marathon and volition tally it successful the spring.

Her contention clip allowed her to participate the lottery for the New York City Marathon, and she was chosen to instrumentality part.

"It's the archetypal clip I applied. I was ace excited. I virtually was crying erstwhile I work the email that I got in," Rodriguez said.

This Sunday, she'll beryllium among tens of thousands of runners making their mode done the 5 boroughs and crossed the decorativeness line.

The garment she'll beryllium wearing connected contention time is simply a peculiar tribute to her precocious Physical Therapist, Paul Strambi.

"He got maine acceptable for each contention -- um... I'm going to get affectional talking astir it," Rodriguez said arsenic she fought backmost tears.

Strambi passed distant past year, but his larger-than-life property lives on.

"He would ever say, you know, 'More reps are much fun. More weights are much fun.' And past we started saying, 'More miles are much fun.' So this is my mode of honoring him," Rodriguez said. "I cognize he'll beryllium watching maine from up supra and looking down connected me."

As she heads to The Big Apple for the archetypal clip ever, Francine says she's not putting unit connected herself to bushed a definite time.

She conscionable wants to correspond Latina women and women who are inactive moving successful their 50s.

"I privation to instrumentality pictures. I privation to record. I conscionable privation to bask the full moment," Rodriguez said. "I'm conscionable going to bash my champion and person fun."

Francine says 2 of her girlfriends decided to articulation her for her travel to New York City -- truthful they're going to effort to compression successful arsenic overmuch sightseeing arsenic possible.

You tin travel Francine's travel connected Instagram by clicking here.

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