A woman from La Broquerie used one of the most prestigious races in the world, to run the race of her life.

Jaala Van Dongen qualified for the 126th running of the Boston Marathon. On Monday morning, Van Dongen took to the start line with 25,314 runners from around the world. In a time of 3 hours, 20 minutes and 19 seconds, the resident of southeastern Manitoba crossed the finish line in 7,824th position.

"I'm still shocked," said Van Dongen from her hotel room, Monday afternoon.

That is because not only did Van Dongen break per personal best marathon time, but she did so in dominating fashion. Her time Monday eclipsed her personal best by nearly four and a half minutes.

"I'm still incredibly excited and it hasn't all sunk in yet, I'm just really happy," she says. "It was a great, great day."

Van Dongen says the weather was nice to start the race, noting the air temperature was about 10 degrees. But, as the race progressed, the headwind kept intensifying and she says by the second half of the race the winds were probably gusting at 40 kilometres per hour.

The Boston Marathon is well known for its series of hills near the end of the race. Van Dongen says she must have been well prepared, noting those hills were not as daunting as she had envisioned.

"There were so many people there in that four mile stretch just screaming and cheering," she recalls. "It was quite distracting actually, which was probably a good thing."

Van Dongen says it was the sea of humanity on Monday that she will not soon forget. Not only were there runners for as far as the eye could see, but Van Dongen says the crowds of spectators were unbelievable, and certainly not something she has ever experienced before.

"(The) energy was just unbelievable," she adds.

Van Dongen says though she kept to herself for most of the race on Monday, she was always on alert for fellow Canadians.

"Every time I saw a Canadian I would try and talk to them, see where they are from," she recalls. "And then there's some people in the crowds cheering with big, giant Canadian flags as well, so it was pretty neat."

Van Dongen says for the first 20 miles of the race she was able to appreciate her surroundings and the beauty of the historic course. She recalls running past Wellesley College and the famous Scream Tunnel that college is known for. But, as the miles went on, Van Dongen says she caught herself paying more attention to her body and trying to make the last six miles of the race as comfortable as possible.

This year's marathon was also celebrating the 50th anniversary of women being allowed to run in the race. Van Dongen says it was pretty cool to be a part of that milestone.

Van Dongen says just getting to Boston was a feat in itself. She left Winnipeg during last week's blizzard and then had to contend with cancelled flights, a missed connection and the stress of COVID-19 tests, before finally arriving in Boston. And, now that she can strike that off her bucket list, Van Dongen says she is already looking ahead to what might be next. Her short term goal is to take another crack at the Manitoba Marathon in June. But, looking bigger picture, Van Dongen says it would be quite an accomplishment if she could one day finish all six of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. This group of races in New York, Chicago, Boston, Berlin, London and Tokyo are considered the most renowned marathons in the world.