Char Burks always seems to be on the run, whether at her Country Grounds Coffee stand at the roundabout, shifts with the Swinomish Tribal Police Department or keeping up with her kids.

But in New York City recently she really stepped up the pace.

Burks joined over 50,000 other runners, including her cousin, Holly Hendren, and friends Cheryl Otis and Amanda Bedker, in the field of the 2022 New York City Marathon, one of the sport's elite events.

Burks finished the race in just under five hours, a solid time given the day's record November heat. She followed an online program to train for th...