Elizabeth Pehota, a former Fairfield resident who has multiple sclerosis, broke the Guinness Book of World Records record for the fastest female marathon runner with MS Sunday at the Chicago Marathon.
Pehota, a former Boston Celtics cheerleader who grew up in Fairfield but now lives in Boston, finished the race in 3 hours, 12 minutes, 13 seconds, crushing the former record set in the spring by Juliane Keane at London Marathon of 3:53:02.
“I’m so proud of how it worked out,” said Pehota, 32. “The marathon was great, start to finish. I was a little nervous because I wasn’t feeling well the day before, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to execute but it came together so well. We ran even splits.
“It felt like we were making such a difference. I spoke at the MS Society team dinner (before the race). People were coming up to me post-race like, ‘Did you do it, did you do it?’”
Pehota was diagnosed with MS in 2022 while training for the Berlin Marathon after feeling numbness in her feet that spread to her legs and hands. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease that causes breakdown of the protective covering of the nerves, leading to a host of symptoms, including numbness, weakness, memory issues and trouble walking, among others.
She received a shocking diagnosis. But this CT native and marathon runner didn’t let it stop her.
She had just run the Boston Marathon and started feeling symptoms that summer. She ran at Berlin a few days after her diagnosis with her then-boyfriend, now husband Matt Keemon, which was a struggle for her.
Keemon ran with her once again Sunday, which was a better day in many ways.
Pehota was confident she could break the record; she ran a personal best of 3:19 at the Tokyo Marathon earlier in the year, but she didn’t register the time with Guinness because she wanted to raise awareness about MS through her social media accounts with the Chicago race.
“I was kind of questioning early on (in the race) if it was going to happen because my heart rate was really high,” she said. “But once we got to Mile 16, I was like, ‘We got 10 left, if I can make it to 20, I can do this, I can keep this pace.’ We got to 20 and I said, ‘I’m going to lock in.’ Then at that point, it was like, ‘Can I break 3:13?’ Which is a New York qualifier.”
She did and also ran a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.
Sunday was her 16th marathon. She has run 12 marathons since her diagnosis, including Sydney, Tokyo and Boston this year and she has become an advocate for those with MS.
“I really felt I brought a lot of awareness to (MS),” she said. “A lot of people came up to me and said what a difference it’s made in their life, seeing someone share their story. That was very rewarding.”
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