TALLAHASSEE, Fla.(WTXL) — In just a few hours, thousands of people will line up together in Capitol City for the 46th annual Tallahassee Marathon.
ABC 27's Nathan Dean spent some time at an expo on Saturday leading up to the race and got a chance to chat with a few of those runners.
Maybe it's your first marathon. Maybe you've been running them for years.
Either way the Tallahassee Marathon has brought people from all over the world to encourage exercise and see the sights of the Capitol City.
And for some not even an injury can tarnish their spirit.
"My first goal is to finish -- and at the end I'll see how I did," said Tamara Kozulina, Marathon Runner.
For many runners Sunday is just another race.
Even for Tamara Kozulina the women's first place finisher for the last four years, who's now looking to continue her streak.
"I've been fighting a couple injuries through the years -- and I've had only about eight weeks of training," said Kozulina.
Kozulina has dealt with Achilles tendonitis over the years in both heels but keeps on running.
Her determination is why people like Tallahassee Marathon Co-Director Sheryl Rosen say they are inspired to help make this event happen.
"Keeping that motivation up and believing in yourself -- knowing that you worked hard and you trained hard -- you spent a lot of time on the road -- you put in the miles and done the hard work -- race day is the pay off. It's when you get to really see what you're made of," said Sheryl Rosen, Tallahassee Marathon Co-Director.
The Tallahassee Marathon not only encourages a healthier lifestyle in the Big Bend it also benefits the city economically and represents a variety of different cultures.
"It just means so much to the community. And also we enjoy being an economic driver raise Tallahassee's profile to the rest of the world because we get runners from all over the country and sometimes from different countries visiting," said Rosen.
"Last year I was surprised to see so many people from all over the world. I'm from Ukraine myself. So that makes this a special race," said Kozulina.
Whether they cross the finish line first or last all of the runners share the common goal of finishing and sharing the sights of Tallahassee.
"We love our city. To be able to show it off is really something special," said Rosen.
Sunday's marathon and half marathon both start at 7:30am right across the street from the Capitol building.
