Christy Turlington's Journey to the Boston Marathon

By Michele Foley
Every Mother Counts
Every Mother Counts

Much more than a pretty face, supermodel Christy Turlington is running the Boston Marathon today — her fifth marathon to date. An accomplishment on its own, she's running it to raise money for Every Mother Counts, a nonprofit she founded with the mission to make childbirth and pregnancy safe for every mother in the world.

Training for a marathon isn't easy; it takes a huge time commitment and a lot of mental toughness. Here's how Christy stayed focused during her months of training.

Christy officially kicked off her marathon training on a pretty big day — her 47th birthday! The three-month countdown to race day begins . . .

NYC's Winter couldn't keep her from keeping up. She logged an impressive 12 miles at Mile High Run Club, a popular running studio that focuses on intense treadmill workouts.

A successful marathon regimen must include a healthy dose of crosstraining. Yoga is a great way to help prevent running injuries while keeping the body loose and limber. Training definitely did not stop during her travels; while in Sun Valley, ID, Christy made time for a yoga class.

In March, Christy took on the Run Haiti 20K on behalf of Every Mother Counts.

During one of the last long runs of her training, Christy reflected on the women she was running Boston for. "Lucky to be healthy and alive and able to run 21 miles for moms who don't have access to quality maternity care everywhere. You are always on my mind," she captioned this photo.

With one week left until race day, Christy capped off her training with a short run along the California coastline.

"This is happening!" she wrote. "Excited to be in Boston to run my 5th marathon to raise awareness and funds for @everymomcounts and our efforts to link more moms to essential healthcare around the world."

Looking happy and energized at the halfway mark, Christy ran alongside ultramarathoner Scott Jurek.

Christy is beaming at the finsih line with Scott, who didn't plan on running the marathon but did the 26.2 miles with Christy to keep her company. Now that's a GOOD friend.