It’s around 4 a.m. in Bridgeport on a weekday. Chances are good that you don’t know what time it is because you’re sleeping.

 

Sure, there are a few insomniacs out there checking out the clock. There are some who are working and a few others that may be up and out and about for travel or emergency purposes. The rests of us are sound asleep.

 

Sleep and 4 a.m. generally go together unless circumstances intervene. It would be hard to call what Bridgeport resident Megan Flesher does as required circumstance. For physically non-motivated folks like myself, it would seem more apt to call what she does crazy.

 

For her, my version of crazy is her version of nirvana. And for the 31-year-old Flesher, that early wake-up call is not only keeping her physically fit, but it’s been done recently to help her meet a goal.

 

The 2004 Bridgeport High School graduate, who was Megan Shepherd then, gets up at that early hours every weekday. She also gets up early Saturday with the lone break coming on Sunday.

 

She’s not getting up to do laundry. She’s not getting up to go serve a shift at a manufacturing facility.  Megan Flesher gets up early to hit the road – literally.

 

Flesher’s early mornings allow her to get in a run for the day. Understand, this isn’t just a few laps around the neighborhood.

 

“I run eight to 10 miles each morning and get back, get things ready and get to work on time,” said Flesher who, not surprisingly, stops her run one day a week to do a conditioning program at Main Street Fitness as well.

 

She runs for physical fitness. Flesher also has been running toward a goal that we’ll get to here shortly.

 

Her running on the weekend is even more intense. Often, she goes 20 or more miles, which would lead me to believe that hearing that 3:45 alarm clock go off would be the ultimate in annoyance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

“I love running so much that I wake up on my own ready to go, ready to run, throughout the week and even on Saturday when I meet with a small group for a long run,” said Flesher.

 

While the running may seem unusual for some, it’s perfectly normal for Flesher. In fact, she developed here love for running at an early age. You’d have to go back to middle school for the genesis of that passion.

 

“It was in sixth grade it just started with me wanting to be part of the track team with my friends. I did track and cross country in high school, but I was nowhere near as serious with it as I am now,” said Flesher. “I got very serious with running in 2009 when I started doing road races and when I started placing in the top three in several of them it was kind of a motivating factor to do another.”

 

Because of that, Flesher has become a regular on the road race circuit. She’s done more 5Ks and 10Ks and half marathons than she can remember. What she can remember is that she just completed her fourth full marathon. That marathon, most importantly, has allowed her to be able to realize a long-established goal that has made all those early mornings worth it – even if she didn’t already enjoy it.

 

On Nov. 5, last Sunday, Flesher competed in the Marshall University/St. Mary’s Marathon in Huntington. The race’s goal wasn’t just to complete it. The goal wasn’t exactly to win it. The goal was two prong – one that would allow her to reach another.

 

“I had a vision in my head to run the race in (three hours and 25 minutes) and told my husband (Nick) and my co-workers about that number,” said Flesher. “That would guarantee me what I’ve been working toward, which is a time that would qualify me to be able to run in the Boston Marathon.”

 

Incredibly, Megan Flesher crossed the finish line at 3 hours, 25 minutes and 31 seconds. It was just as she envisioned.

 

As an added bonus, she crossed the finish line in a time that saw her win the female portion of the marathon by more than three minutes over her nearest competitor in a field that featured 175 runners. She also finished 36^th out of 419 total runners.

 

“It was amazing to cross at the time that I had in my head and now I can go to Boston,” said Flesher. “My time is good enough to qualify me.”

 

Flesher will be in Boston on April 15, 2019 since the registration for 2018’s event is closed. That doesn’t mean Flesher will rest on her achievements. In fact, she plans to ramp it up.

 

“I would like to get to a time of three hours and 15 minutes and someday run in the New York City Marathon,” she said. “That’s next.”

 

Her husband Nick, who raved about his wife’s accomplishments on social media, put what truly makes her achievements impressive. With him being in the oil and gas industry in a job that keeps him away from home many days each month, Megan Flesher does all the chores and makes sure their two children – Kennedy, 5, and Kameron, 3 – have all they need from meals to school prep.

 

Flesher, however, knows it’s a total team effort. And it goes beyond her and her husband.

 

“It was nice to be appreciated and hear that from him,” said Flesher of her husband’s comments. “I do have help from my parents and my in-laws. They do plenty in watching the kids and helping to make this all possible. It’s hard not to be thankful for them in all of this. I remember that every time I’m out running.”

 

You can count on that happening tomorrow. Sometime after 3:45 a.m. she’ll be beating a path through Bridgeport on foot that will eventually take her to Boston.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows some of the far away places Megan Flesher has competed, while the second shows her after winning last week's Marsall Marathon. The third photo is of Flesher during the Morgantown Marathon, while she is shown with her husband Nick and daughters Kennedy and Kameron below. Photos courtesy of Megan Flesher.