Every marathoner has her or his story. First timers, seasoned veterans, husbands and wives, sisters, etc, all find reasons to achieve the Mt. Everest of running. Today, I'm offering you a glimpse of what are motivating runners preparing for Detroit.

Mary Ann Cheng, 38, St. Louis, MO, has rheumatoid arthritis and discovered that running made her feel better. She plans to run Detroit with her brother and a girlfriend from Chicago. She picked Detroit because her family still lives in the area and thinks it will be cool to run over the Ambassador Bridge and through the D/W Tunnel. Completion of a marathon takes mind and might. Training your "head" is as important as training your "body. My goal now is to inspire people who think they can't exercise/run/bike/etc and make them know that they can."

Tom Gerou 43, Canton, Chiropractor, uses the marathon to keep him accountable to a good training regimen. "The feeling you get from completing a marathon is a very powerful one."

Dave Cohen 40, West Bloomfield, enjoys training on Walnut Lake Road. "I wanted a goal when I turned 40 to keep me motivated and I wanted to be close to home when I ran my first marathon."

Susan Krieg, 38, Pittsboro, IN was diagnosed with MS 9 years ago. She is bringing a whole team with her in an effort to raise $50,000 for MS. "We all have obstacles in our lives. How we react to them is what makes or breaks us."

Karena Loveday, 30, Trenton, Started running 2 miles in 1999 and completed the Flying Pig marathon last year thanks to a dedicated training partner. She is addicted to the hard work it takes to run a marathon. "There will be days when you don't know if you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have!"

Katherine Petryszak, 34, Dearborn, is planning to run her third straight Free Press Marathon. "I count my blessings everyday when I can get out of bed and walk. My sister is handicapped with Cerebral Palsy and has never walked. She is truly my inspiration to keep going."

Dan Quinn 26, St. Clair Shores, wants to be a role model for his students that he teaches and coaches at Grosse Point North High. He is choosing Detroit over the other big marathons because the course features the highlights of Windsor and Detroit. Plus, it's an opportunity to raise money for MS.

Dennis Quenneville 47, Ann Arbor, So far has lost 35 of the 45 lbs he gained over the last 10 non-running years and is starting to remember what it was like to be in good shape again. He is running the marathon with several friends after they sought his help in setting up a training schedule.

Chris Robb, 45, Hudson runs with the Army Reserves. He uses running to help him reduce his smoking and is still trying to quit. After his son died a few years ago he has been raising money for the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society).

Courtney Zielinkski, 20, East Lansing needed something to do over the summer and decided to train for the marathon through Playmakers In-training program. She also loves to support local Detroit events.

Tip of the Week: Don't create expectations that are unrealistic. Give yourself a range that you will make you feel good about yourself. Use workouts and shorter races to measure your abilities.