Arizona nurse celebrates after shock second at Boston Marathon

BOSTON — An unknown runner from Arizona celebrated a $75,000 (€60,500) payday Monday after shocking the field to claim a second place finish at the Boston Marathon.

While American woman Desiree Linden was celebrating her victory in the prestigious event, the spotlight also shone on runner- up Sarah Sellers, an unheralded part-time runner who came in four minutes behind the winner.

Sellers, who works as a nurse in Arizona, was running only her second marathon after starting training roughly seven months ago.

Her only previous marathon was a qualifying event in Utah, which she won. She paid a $ 180 entry fee to race in Boston, and admitted she was surprised to be placed in the elite field competition.

However, Sellers produced an outstanding run in atrocious weather to finish in two hours 44min 04sec.

“I still think I’m going to wake up and it’s gonna be a dream,” Sellers told running news website letsrun.com. “I felt good out there. The conditions were really tough. But I’m shocked at the place. I had no idea.”

Sellers graduated from college in 2015, but a stress fracture forced her to take nearly two years off from running.

“I didn’t think I had a chance,” said Sellers after Monday’s race, revealing she had no idea of her place in the field until she was informed after finishing. “I thought I was top 10.” —