WHEELING — Marathons are the ultimate running challenge. They also serve as bucket list items for some.

One such person is Karen John. Come Monday, the Warwood resident will have one less entry on her list.

John has qualified to run in the Boston Marathon. It is the gold standard of marathons, first run in 1897 and now staged annually on Patriots’ Day, the third Monday of April.

The 51-year-old mother of two ran track and cross country in high school at Wheeling Central. She didn’t get seriously involved into long distance running until after the birth of her son, Joey, now age 21, and a third-year student at WVU.

“Running became an outlet for me when life got complicated. I began competitive racing abut five years ago,” John said. “I work for a great company that gives me the time to run on my lunch hour. We have a gym for days I can’t get outside. I do a long run on the weekend.”

John has been the Accounting Manager for Wheeling-Nisshin, Inc. in Follansbee the past 29 years. She earned her B.S. degree from WVU.

“It was always a bucket list of mine to run a marathon. I never dreamed I would qualify for the Boston Marathon,” John said. “I qualified last April in Nashville. I finished that race in 3:44.”

John launched her Boston training at the beginning of the year. She has encountered some speed bumps along the way.

“Training has been tough because the weather is always a factor around our area,” John said. “I started off with a partner, a great friend of mine. But he got injured, so he has been coaching me from his couch. The training has been exhausting. My longest run has been 21 miles.”

John left for Beantown Saturday morning, accompanied by a good friend, Lorrie McMahon.

Her Boston Marathon goal?

“First of all, I want to finish. I know I will regardless of my time,” John said. “But I would like to run it in under four hours but really just to compete and finish it is enough for me.

“I am excited but nervous. I guess I need to relax,” she continued. “I am just very proud of myself for getting this far.”

The Boston Marathon is the obvious pinnacle of John’s running career thus far, but she is no stranger to major events. In addition to the Nashville Marathon, John has competed in the Great Race in Pittsburgh and the Ogden Newspapers Half-Marathon Classic.

What do the roads hold for John after Monday’s marathon mission?

“I will continue my running but I am pretty sure this will be my last marathon,” John noted. “Training takes a lot of time.”

John is married to Wheeling attorney Joe John. In addition to their son, they have a daughter, Jesse, 24. She is a WVU graduate and currently a case worker in St. Clairsville. Jesse was a cross country and track standout at Wheeling Central.

BUBBA’S BITS

RILEY HEATHERINGTON was one of the premier prep basketball players in West Virginia this past season. He led Ravenswood to the Class A state title game while being named first-team all-state and the Little Kanawha Conference player of the year, averaging 20 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.7 steals a game He is the son of Randy Heatherington, a standout basketball player for St. John Central. He played in the OVAC All-Star Game in 1986.

MAJOR KUDOS go out to Joe Thomas. He has coached the Jefferson County All-Stars basketball team, under the auspices of the Jefferson County Board of Developmental Disabilities, for the past 12 years. Thomas is retiring at the end of this month. He led the All-Stars to the state tournament twice and won the Division III championship in 2007 while earning runner-up status for Division IV in 2015. His teams won more than 100 games during the past dozen seasons.

FORMER WHEELING Park all-stater Andrew Kowalo continues to enjoy a sparkling spring for the Liberty University baseball team. The talented senior infielder entered weekend play batting .311 with six doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI for the 20-11 Flames. He has started all 31 games, delivering 32 hits and scoring 24 runs. Liberty is hosting Winthrop for a three game series this weekend.

MARTINS FERRY High grad Kaitlyn Bliss is wrapping up a four-year golf career at West Liberty in grand fashion. The Bridgeport resident has been accorded all-Mountain East Conference honors for the third straight year. The talented senior linkster has been named a second-team All-MEC for the third straight season. Bliss finished 12th in th MEC championship tourney.

THE OHIO Dominican Football’s Ohio Valley Friday Night Lights Camp is set for June 30 at 6 p.m. at the Dave Bruney Football Complex in Martins Ferry beginning at 6 p.m., rain or shine. The camp will be directed by ODU head coach Kelly Cummings and his staff, which includes former Purple Rider and Mount Union star quarterback Zac Bruney. He is ODU’s offensive coordinator. Local D-II and D-III coaches will be invited to attend and evaluate. Cost is $35 for pre-registration and $45 for walk-up. For more information, go to http://ohiodominicanpanthers.com/information/camps.

THE FINAL round of The Masters presented great theater. Not many golfing experts picked Sergio Garcia as a possible green jacket winner. He, however, displayed the poise and confidence that has always been missing from his game in the majors. The Masters got off to a strange start when favorite Dustin Johnson had to pull out after falling down stairs the night prior. It had to be a very nasty tumble to exit Augusta prematurely.