When teacher’s aide Lynn Bucknall, decided to run a marathon to commence her 40th birthday many years ago, she never thought it would become her full-time passion. Having run just short of 40 marathons since running her first, 25 years ago, running marathons has enveloped Bucknall’s life. She recently ran the Portland marathon in October, marking her 45th, and was cheered on by her longtime friend and former McCallum administrative assistant Kerren Campa.

For most marathons she has run, Bucknall joined training programs, which can last four months up until the race. These groups ensure runners get fully prepared for the 26.2 miles they must run on race day. 

For her own preparation regimen, Bucknall runs several times a week, with on long Saturday run, ranging from 10-22 miles, depending on how close she is to marathon time. 

“You build up to the 22-mile run, and then you go back down,” she said. “It’s called a taper. So you taper, and then you run the marathon.”

While in high school, Bucknall didn’t have the chance to play many sports, because sports teams for girls weren’t then as widespread and available as they are now. In college, she watched students run around the track outside of her dorm and decided to give it a try. She has been running ever since. 

“I started running when I was in college, and then slowly, I just built up,” she said. “Then I did a few 10K races, which is six miles, and then I did a half marathon, which is 13 and then eventually moved into a marathon.” 

Bucknall said she decided to run the Portland marathon because she was motivated to run in Oregon for the first time.

“I’d been to Oregon, not to run, before, so I just thought it would be a cool marathon to run,” she said. “They say it’s like the old Austin, the way Austin used to be. So I just thought, yeah, I’ll try that. And we had a great time.” 

She noted that Portland has a river that runs through the city, very similar to the lakes in Austin. The race started by the river, looped around part of a neighborhood, and circled back to the river, in an almost clover-like shape. Bucknall noted that some people don’t enjoy the repetitiveness of the path, but she didn’t mind it.

“You would run back towards the river, and run over a bridge, but these bridges were big, so you would have to go up and back down,” she said. “Some people like that, some don’t, but I didn’t mind because the people in the neighborhood were standing in their yards and cheering us on, and that was fun.”

Campa used to work at McCallum as the secretary to the counselors and moved a couple of years ago to Portland. She and Bucknall have sons who are the same age and have been longtime friends.

“When I learned she was going to run here, I was ecstatic,” Campa said. “I loved being able to cheer for her.” 

The Boston Marathon is one of the most coveted races that all serious marathon runners aim to qualify for, and depending on the age group and gender, the times to qualify get shorter and shorter. Bucknall has run the Boston Marathon 11 times.

“My favorite marathon is the Boston Marathon,” Bucknall said. “You do have to qualify for it, but the older you get, the easier it is to qualify because it’s based on your age.” 

Marathon runners sometimes have specific routines, or essentials they carry with them on race days. Bucknall prefers not to carry a water bottle because  it is just extra weight that she feels isn’t needed; instead, she carries energy gels with her along the route. 

“A lot of people do take their own water because they want their own stuff, but the water and the drinks on the course are usually just fine for me,” she said. 

Footwear plays a big part in a marathon runner’s performance and differs from runner to runner. Bucknall said that oftentimes when she finds a shoe she likes, her preference changes slightly over time, and the shoe doesn’t work for her anymore. 

“Shoe technology is changing so fast right now,” she said. ”The shoe thing is a big part of it because if you don’t have a good shoe, you’re not going to have a good run.” 

Senior Ben Polega has worked with Bucknall since he was in kindergarten, almost 14 years ago. He describes her as a person that is always there for him. He has had fun observing her marathon journey.

“I consider her like a second grandma to me,” he said. “She is always very energetic.” 

His fifth-grade year, Bucknall had a stress fracture and had to take a break from running. Polega said he has attended some of her marathons to cheer her on from the sidelines, mostly the ones in Austin. 

“During 2021, we got news of Ms. Bucknall running the Austin Marathon,” he said. “So me and my dad got up super early to surprise her at the 24-mile mark.”

Bucknall was pleasantly surprised to see Polega and his dad there, and as he said, he gave her a pep talk before the last two miles.

“I told her to imagine she was chasing my chair,” he said. “Later that day I got a text that said, ‘I finished, and I imagined I was chasing your chair.’” 

Last year, Polega arranged for her to be announced over the announcements, congratulating her on her finish of the Boston Marathon. 

Throughout the time that Bucknall has aided Polega, he feels gratitude toward her help to him.

“She is basically willing to do anything for me,” he said. “She shows people that you can do anything, no matter your age.”