The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WAITSBURG - It's been years in the making, but Waitsburg's Maria Garcia hopes to cross the finish line of the New York City Marathon "for real" on Sunday. The quinquagenarian (that means she's in her 50's, though just barely) will be joined by her college roommate - and about 50,000 other people - running in the largest marathon in the world, as she raises funds for F.A.C.E.S. Northwest, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children and adolescents with autism.

Garcia crossed the finish line of the New York City marathon several years ago when she and a work colleague walked through Central Park during race setup, the Saturday before that year's race. "I remember remarking about how cool it would be to cross that finish line for real some day," said Garcia.

She later relayed the story to her former University of Minnesota roommate, Sandy Derhovsepian, who encouraged her to take the idea seriously. Garcia, who ran the Coeur d'Alene Marathon 15 years ago and the Portland Marathon in 2009 insisted she was done with marathons, but eventually gave in and agreed to run NYC if her roommate would join her. This will be Derhovsepian's first full marathon.

Garcia said that there is a lottery for "normal people" who can't qualify time-wise to get into the NYC marathon. Runners who enter their names for two years and aren't drawn, are automatically allowed in the third year. "We decided to go with that strategy, so this had been a long time in the making," said Garcia.

Garcia hopes to make the most of her commitment by raising funds for a cause that is near to her heart. Maria and husband Roger's daughter, Maya, has spent the last two summers working as an Instructional

Aide at a day camp for children and young adults with autism through F.A.C.E.S. NW. Maya, who is finishing up her psychology degree at Western Washington University, plans to become a special education teacher and work with autistic children.

At F.A.C.E.S. day camps, campers practice community involvement, independent living skills, academic enrichment and positive social relationships in a recreational environment. Each camper is teamed with a one-on-one Instructional Assistant. "Maya loves it!" said Garcia, referring to her daughter's work with the campers.

Garcia hopes to raise at least $500 for the grass roots nonprofit. She has set up a Crowdrise account which showed $275 in donations at the time of this writing. Garcia's site can be found at www.crowdrise.com/mariagarcia3.

Garcia says she has a "special incentive" for those who wish to donate. "I will put their names on slips of paper and carry them across the finish line in my snack pack so they can cross the finish with me. Then they'll get a certificate with their slip of paper on it," she said.

Garcia trains with the same method she used for her Coeur d'Alene and Portland marathons. "I've had that piece of paper tacked on the bulletin board in my kitchen for 15 years. It worked before, so I decided, why not do it again?" she said. Whenever possible she enjoys finding unique places to run.

"My favorite run ever was this summer when we visited Virginia and I ran from Yorktown to Colonial Williamsburg on the Colonial Parkway. It was gorgeous!" she said. Garcia has also run on the Rails to Trails routes off Snoqualmie Pass and often looks for unique runs in the Blue Mountains.

These days, the District Assessment Coordinator for Walla Walla Public Schools finds herself running a much less interesting route around town, often after dark. Garcia says she enjoys running and her time alone. "I don't even listen to music. It's my time to meditate, problem solve and just cogitate," she said.

With the race just around the corner, her runs are tapering off, but just two weeks ago she ran her third marathon in Walla Walla. "It fell on a long run training day so I decided to enter and give myself permission to walk after 20 miles if I needed to. I was pleased that I was able to run the whole way," she said. Garcia, who is not competitive in her running, came in at 4 hours 49 minutes - well within her "five hours or under" goal.

"In Coeur d'Alene, when I was not quite 35, I came in at 4 hours 7 minutes and ten years later, I ran Portland in 4 hours 30 minutes. I'm getting older and getting slower," she said, laughing. Garcia is sticking with her "five hours or less" goal for New York.

"You never know what will happen in a marathon. I'm 50 and have aches and pains and things that bug me. I'm going to crawl across that finish line if I have to, though!" she said. "All the way back to my first marathon, my family has always encouraged me and been the biggest supporters. If not for that, I wouldn't be doing this."

Garcia and Derhovsepian will arrive in New York on Halloween night. They'll do some sightseeing on Saturday and Monday - including watching a taping of The Late Show - and return home on Tuesday.

Those who wish to donate to F.A.C.E.S. in support of Garcia may do so by visiting www.crowdrise.com/mariagarcia3 or find the link on her Maria Anderson Garcia Facebook page. Garcia says she is happy to take donations directly from those who are uncomfortable donating online as well.