There's something special about helping your mom get ready for a marathon—especially when that marathon is Boston. For me, the toughest part wasn't the training tips or the race-day nutrition. It was untangling four safety pins.

I spent a good five minutes wrestling with that little metal puzzle as we rode the subway to Boston Common on April 20. My mom, Mary Jablonski (née Leary, Alter High School class of '71), needed those pins for her race number. And honestly? She was more worried about her outfit than the 26.2 miles ahead. Two layers or one? Too hot or too cold? Some things never change.

Thirty-seven years ago, she did this without my help. I was 11 back in 1989 when she first tackled America's most famous marathon. She was 35 then. Now she's 72—and still going strong. "Haven't changed at all," she joked with fellow runners on the subway. "Ha ha."

I could have written about her race back in April. But Mother's Day felt like the right moment. For the second time in four years, my editors gave me space for a gift that beats chocolate and flowers—and costs a lot less. Actually, I'm getting paid for this one.

Let me back up a bit. Three years ago, Mom qualified for Boston with a 4:10:28 at the London Marathon in Madison County. She planned to run but injuries forced her to withdraw. This year? She came back to that same London course in April 2025 and posted a 4:19:57—easily under the 4:50 qualifying standard for women 70-74. And this time, she made it through the next 12 months without major injury. Minor ones? Plenty. She even suffered a boxer's fracture in her hand after a fall about a week before Boston. My dad, Dr. Jeff Jablonski (also Alter '71), had to remove the bulky splint on race morning.

As we waited at a coffee shop for her bus, I asked how she was feeling. "I'm nervous because of the logistics," she said. "And because I have to wait a long time after we get to the starting area. They've got the fast people first and the slow people toward the end." Her bus left at 8 a.m. She didn't start running until 11.

Mom's running journey began in 1979, when she was 26 and I was 2. That's a late start by any measure. But it makes you wonder what she might have achieved as a younger runner if girls' sports had taken off earlier. Then again, she's been making up for lost time ever since—one marathon at a time, safety pins and all.