Lani Teshima

If you would've asked me 12 years ago about how I'd be running marathons regularly, I would've told you you were crazy! Over the years, I'd started packing on the pounds, until I was having all sorts of obesity-related health issues, like high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I could barely walk, and forget wearing regular running or walking shoes!

I made a life-changing decision in 2012 to get weight loss surgery. I got a gastric sleeve that made my stomach smaller so that I try to manage my out-of-control eating. And as the weight started coming off, I realized I had to change my entire outlook on life, and embrace an active lifestyle. I started with the elliptical machine at the gym, and slowly began introducing running.

Although I had "woggled" (walked/jogged/wiggled) in marathons every 10 years or so, as the weight came off, I found I could run faster.

My goals then were 10Ks and half-marathons. But I always intended to eventually start running full marathons -- I already had some under my belt, but I wanted to able to run them. Although running Boston was on my bucket list, it felt so far away... then came the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. That's when I knew. It was time to train in earnest.

I time-qualified to run the 2016 race. And since then, I've been back every year (after skipping 2017). And today, my goal is to run 10 consecutive Boston Marathons in a row. 2025 will take me to year 8. I still have two years after 2025 to reach my ultimate goal. It's an ambitious goal, because by nature I'm not a particularly fast runner. I have friends who can qualify based on their finish time, almost unintentionally. I'm not one of those people.

Summer 2024 (or "How Lani Broke Her Face")

It was a tiny crack on the sidewalk. So small that I never even noticed it in the thousands of times I ran over it, just half a mile from my home. But on a perfectly ordinary morning on June 5, 2024, I was distracted, looking at my watch. My left foot just clipped that tiny crack, and because it came so suddenly, I couldn't brace myself with my hands. I fell. Hard. Right onto my face.

The pain was searing, and I knew right away this was no ordinary fall. I hobbled home and immediately put an ice pack on my face, but the pain (and growing concern) wasn't subsiding. With help from my husband (who quickly returned home), we went to the hospital emergency room. There, I found out I had multiple fractures on my right eye socket.

The injury caused my right eye to slip by a few millimeters, causing vision problems including some double vision. I got surgery on the eye socket later in the summer, and while the healing process has been slow, I continue to make progress and I am now able to slowly run outdoors -- but I'm avoiding sidewalks and any form of trail running (too many roots and rocks!).

I'm so very grateful; my injury could have been so much worse, and I could have injured the eye itself. Thank goodness I didn't! 

But.

This also meant my summer racing schedule was completely derailed. My marathon training has been set back by months. So when I return to Boston in 2025, it will be with training that I had to restart all over again in the fall.

Nothing Will Stop Me -- Join Me on My Journey to Boston 2025!

I'm the "everyday runner" and I have to work hard. Won't you join me, one step as a time, as we move onward in our miles? 

I'm counting my blessings as I'm able to start running in earnest again, albeit carefully. Make strides with me as I return to Boston!

There are a lot of charity organizations who you can run the Boston Marathon with. This will be my third time representing the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, because it's a cause and mission I really believe in.

Let me tell you about Carrie.

Carrie is a former colleague of mine, before I retired from my job at SAP.

Carrie is on the Autism spectrum, and began her career path at SAP through its Autism at Work program. She is an outspoken advocate and champion for the neurodiverse population. Not only was she the co-lead for our company's Autism Inclusion Network, but she's also a founder for the Autistic Women's Alliance.

Carrie and I were co-workers for a few years, until she moved to her current position, as an inclusion specialist with our corporate central design team. There, she focuses on bringing Inclusive Design methods into our software products, to make them easier for people of all abilities to use and access.

In the time that Carrie and I worked on the same team, I really learned SO much about autism. I appreciated her straightforwardness and honest opinions, and learned to try to model some of my work habits. It's sometimes intimidating when I don't understand something the engineers are working on, but thanks to Carrie, I know there's nothing embarassing about asking what something means!

It's really because of my work with Carrie that I'm here today, fundraising for Dougie's Team. I'm so thankful that I've had the opportunity to work so closely with a neurodiverse co-worker. And it's my wish that more companies can see the benefit to hiring a diverse group of people.You can view her LinkedIn profile here.

Dougie's Team is My Boston Home

I was on Dougie's Team for the 2022 and 2024 Boston Marathons. Earlier this fall when I ran the runDisney Halloween Half Marathon, I chose to raise funds for Dougie's Team as well!

Imagine my surprise when I was awarded their 2024 Out of Towner Award! It was such a delightful surprise, and I couldn't believe that they were honoring me , when the privilege has been all mine!