She's a mom of two and a dedicated runner, and now a Boston Marathon qualifier.

Carolina Villalpando grew up playing basketball and swimming. In her 20s, she wanted to try something new, and it stuck.

"I've been running for over 15 years," Villalpando said.

What started on a treadmill, turned into local races.

"When I noticed that I could achieve all these distances, I started going to local races," Villalpando said.

First 5Ks, then 10Ks, and eventually full marathons. Her first marathon was in November 2023 at the New York City Marathon.

"I saw that all these people were achieving these goals. Running more, running in other cities, I asked my husband, 'do you think I could run a marathon?' And he says yeah," Villalpando said.

Since then, she's run a total of four marathons, New York, Chicago in 2024, Berlin in 2025, and most recently in Houston.

"When the day came, it was just me and myself saying I'm here for this, this is your dream, don't stop even though it's difficult," Villalpando said.

That Houston race was the breakthrough when she officially qualified for the Boston Marathon.

"I couldn't believe that I was actually achieving this. I had to call my friend and be like, 'are you sure? Did I just qualify for Boston?'" Villalpando said.

To qualify for the Boston Marathon, runners must hit a qualifying time based on age. At 37 years old, Villalpando needed to run 26.2 miles in 3 hours and 30 minutes.

She finished with only five minutes to spare.

"I couldn't believe it, me really," Villalpando said.

Villalpando says she trains an hour to an hour and a half every day, running early mornings or late at night so she can still be there for her two kids.

"I don't know where I get my energy from, honestly, I just wake up, and it's immediately me. I'm not going to say it's easy because it's not," Villalpando said.

Now officially a Boston Marathon qualifier, Villalpando will take on one of the most known races next year, proving dedication can take you all the way to the finish line.

"If you have a dream, go for it. You got to work for it, but it's going to be worth it," Villalpando said.

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