Zanesville’s Katie McNeil will be able to cross a major goal off her bucket list Sunday afternoon when she crosses the finish line of the New York City Marathon.

It will be the second of the trifecta she hopes to achieve — the first being the Boston Marathon and the last being the Chicago Marathon.

For McNeil, whose life is dedicated to her community as the United Way’s Resource Development Director, accomplishing her running goals are no different than her day job.

McNeil builds off the support and encouragement from her close-knit network of athletes.

“That running group has supported and been there every mile of the way to help me be more successful and reach my goal and to cross that item off my bucket list,” said McNeil.

If it wasn’t for the encouragement from a friend to enter the lottery for the New York City Marathon after finishing Boston, McNeil would be waking up in Zanesville instead of hitting the pavement in Central Park this race day.

“The more I thought about it, the more I thought, you know what, I just need to do it now because I want to hit my goal of hitting the three big marathons,” said McNeil. “I think moving forward I’ll have a different goal in mind, but for now it’s time tackle the biggest marathon in the U.S. and try to finish that and check everything off my bucket list.”

Getting to the point where McNeil could achieve the dream for any serious distance runner, running the largest marathon in the world, was a product of dedicated training and support from peers.

McNeil runs three times per week on top of teaching 5 hours of cross training at the Muskingum Recreation Center.

“It’s imperative that you do your long runs to be successful in the big race, because 26.2? … Nobody can really prepare for that, but you want time on your feet, and you want time to be prepared,” said McNeil.

Other Zanesville runners who’ve conquered the New York City Marathon before McNeil have given her plenty of advice in preparation for the big day.

They included Jim Crowley, Nancy Shamp, Brooke Smith and Danette Warner.

“I take the words of wisdom and translate it into my own for the race,” said McNeil.

One change McNeil is incorporating into her own style comes from watching Smith run.

“She does it just for the experience, said McNeil. “She loves to run, and I love to see that just she loves it so much, enjoys every stride she gets, and that’s motivating to me, too.”

McNeil said she enjoys picking her friends’ brains about their running mentality.

“For a long time, I just liked to run fast, get it done and over with, and run against the clock,” said McNeil.

But this time around, McNeil plans to take in the scenery while running through the “Big Apple.”

“I’m going to enjoy every minute, even if it’s a long 26.2,” McNeil said with a laugh.

Another new approach McNeil plans to take is running without trying to find a partner in the sea of 50,000 athletes.

“I think that’s more or less what I’m going to do in the absence of a conversation is just reflect on the work that I’ve done to get there, the opportunity that I have to be there, and the goal that I have to finish and just enjoy, enjoy the run,” said McNeil.

When the race is over, McNeil will probably be found enjoying some New York style pizza with her five friends who made the trip to cheer her on.