Plum resident Allison Polesnak runs Pittsburgh Marathon in wedding outfit
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Allison Polesnak knows all about running marathons and half-marathons, especially the one closest to home in Pittsburgh.
The Monroeville native, 2007 Gateway High School graduate and Plum resident ran the Pittsburgh Marathon for the fifth time on May 1, her 33rd birthday, while also putting the finishing touches on wedding plans.
Polesnak celebrated her upcoming May 13 nuptials by running the streets in a wedding outfit. She was one of many who put their own personal touch and flair to what is one of the city’s annual traditions.
“One of my relay members, Lisa, continued to pop up everywhere,” said Polesnak, who ran her first Pittsburgh Marathon half-marathon in 2017. “We call her ‘Momma Muscle.’ She showed up with her mom at one spot in Station Square, and they had a ‘Here Comes The Bride’ sign. I saw the sign and I got really emotional. I then ran into a very close sorority sister of mine on the Birmingham Bridge.
“The crowd coming into the finish line is unbelievable. And to top it off, my aunt Jennifer was at the finish line volunteering with the medals so I could get my half-marathon medal from her. It was just amazing. I am sure there are thousands of unique and special stories.”
Polesnak said she received many words of congratulations on her wedding.
“All of that encouragement goes so far,” she said. “I had people a couple of times ask me if I was running to the altar or away from the altar. I thought that was pretty funny.”
Polesnak considered herself athletic growing up through her time in high school as a member of the Gateway girls basketball team and hurdler for the track and field team.
“I didn’t do any competitive running in high school,” Polesnak said. “I did the 100 and 300 hurdles on the track team for a couple of years, but I never minded going on a longer run.”
She ran a full marathon in Pittsburgh in 2019 and also has run half-marathons in both Las Vegas and Disney World.
“I really enjoy running, mainly for keeping up a good mood and staying healthy,” she said. “Whenever (the Pittsburgh Marathon) comes every year, it’s just a thing I love to do. It’s kind of a no-brainer. I love that several Olympians and other top distance runners in the world come to run the same race with a girl who dresses up as a bride to have a good time and feel good. It’s so great that the Pittsburgh Marathon can be whatever you need it to be.”
Polesnak said she was beyond happy the Pittsburgh Marathon was in-person again after two years of virtual events.
“I usually train much better for marathons and half-marathons. I follow the Hal-Higdon program for training,” Polesnak said. “But I also was in the middle of wedding planning, so I didn’t train nearly as much as I usually do. It was a huge mental battle because this year, I had to get over the fact that I wasn’t doing this to get a PR or to break records. I was doing it to have fun and prove that I still could do it, even with less training. But I relied on my past training to prepare this time.”
Polesnak said that had she fully prepared, her target time would’ve been under two hours.
“For this one, I gave myself a target time of around 2 hours, 30 minutes, and I hit it,” she said. “So I was pretty pleased with that. I still have the goal for a half-marathon of under two hours. I just recognized it wasn’t going to be this year, and that’s OK.”
Her all-time best half-marathon time is 2:10 set in 2020 while running virtually through University Park in Monroeville, her home neighborhood growing up, and also along Business 22.
“That was mental as heck because I was running without anyone else for 13 miles,” Polesnak said.
She finished her half-marathon this year in 2:35:52, the 6,132nd overall to cross the finish line out of 8,535.
“I drew so much inspiration and adrenaline from all the spectators,” she said. “I had to be graceful with myself and stop and stretch when I need to. If I was going for time, I might have just pushed through.”
Polesnak ran the first leg of her relay and then kept going.
“That was a lot mentally. I couldn’t stop there,” she said. “The volunteers were like, ‘We have bananas over here.’ I was like, ‘Ooh, I’m not done.”
Polesnak said the rain wasn’t ideal, but it still added to the flavor of the experience.
“When I did the full marathon in 2019, it was completely in the rain, but it didn’t have a couple of the downpours this one did,” Polesnak said. “I have run full marathons in the rain. I love the sunshine, but I had to have the mental strength to know that despite being soaking wet, I had to get through it. That was the mindset of the elite runners to everyone else.”
The weather was better for the 5K on Saturday, and Polesnak ran a time of 31.39 to finish as the 514th female out of 1,721 and 90th out of 253 in the female 30-34 age group.