"I remember getting the phone call asking if I was interested in running the Boston Marathon for Special Olympics, and I had no idea that that was an option for me," said 2023 Boston Marathon Xtra Mile runner Kelsie Rainone.

As someone who has always been driven to help people reach their greatest potential, Kelsie has committed to running both the 2023 Boston Athletic Association 5K and Boston Marathon as a member of the Special Olympics MA Xtra Mile Team. She's someone who constantly looks to do more for others and give back to the community, so much so that she is pursuing her master's degree in social work at Sacred Heart University while simultaneously working as the Assistant Director of TOPSoccer for King Philip Middle School (TOPSoccer is a community-based training designed to bring the opportunity of learning and playing soccer to any athlete, ages 4-19, who has an intellectual or physical disability). Her passion for inclusion and disability advocacy in and outside of sports has made Kelsie a model participant on the Xtra Mile Team.

"This community has always been a big part of my life and I just wanted to do more for it and help out with all of the things Special Olympics does," said Kelsie. "That's also why I decided to go into social work, because it has a lot to do with society and community coming together as one."

While this will be her first time running the Boston Marathon, it's not her first time as an Xtra Mile runner. Kelsie previously ran as a member of our Falmouth Road Race Xtra Mile Team; but she claims the Marathon will be the biggest race she's ever done.

"I'm nervous because I don't know what to expect," she said. ''The other one I did was Falmouth for Special Olympics, and I thought that was huge. I keep reminding myself that this will be even bigger than that one."

But with the help of the Xtra Mile Team's connection with Heartbreak Hill Running Company, Kelsie has been able to train alongside some of the best runners in the area. With her hectic schedule of trying to get runs done in the morning before school, and then balancing TOPSoccer on Sundays, Kelsie looks forward to her Saturday runs in Newton with other Heartbreak Hill runners.

"When I run here, I'm in my neighborhood and I run by myself because I don't really have friends that want to run. But I love going [to Newton] because there's always so many people," she said. ''The partnership with Heartbreak Hill is a huge benefit to being on the Xtra Mile Team. Doing those long runs on my own was so hard, and my pace is so much better when I run with other people because I have to keep up with everyone so I don't get lost."

But for Kelsie, while running 26.2 miles at one of the World's most iconic races is enticing on its own, as well as the Heartbreak Hill training perks, the best part of this experience has been her involvement on the Xtra Mile Team.

''You are running for a great cause, you get to raise money for a great cause, and knowing that you're doing that and being able to see the Special Olympic participants on Zoom meetings is really cool because they're like, 'Oh my God, you're doing this for me!' which is really cool," said Kelsie.