Army Cpt. Kelly Calway's heart was filled with the cheers and encouragement of her family as she beared down in the final strides of the Olympic Marathon Trials in January in Houston.

Her husband Chris, 4-year-old daughter Hazel, parents and mother and father in-law went ballistic as Calway hit the finish line in 2 hours, 37 minutes, and 10 seconds.

"I passed my mom and she was jumping up and down," Calway said. "It was such a great experience to have them all there. The last 10K was some of the best running I've ever done."
For her effort and child-like love for running, Calway has been named the Runners Roost Runner of the Month. She is the first to receive the honor. The Runners Roost Runner of the Month is sponsored by Runners Roost of Colorado Springs and Mizuno, which is providing a new pair of shoes to each runner of the month.  Read more about the Runners Roost Runner of the Month program here.

Stepping to the starting line at the Olympic Trials was a little intimidating. But she soon realized she belonged there.

"I was a little nervous at the start, but I just channeled that into positive energy," she said. "I had confidence in the training I had done and my coach (Mark Stanforth) gave me an awesome plan that I knew I was capable of doing."

She ran strong with some of the best distance runners in the country, and with encouragement from her coach and the love from her family pushing her along, she found her legs in the last 10K.

"I was in such a great group of women," she said. "We picked up on the last lap. I remember passing my coach and he told me to see how many I could pass. I ended up passing four of them in the last mile and a half. I just knew I had to get to the finish line."

In only her fourth marathon, Calway beat her personal best by five minutes. But perhaps the biggest measure of her success is the 22 minutes she found since moving to Manitou Springs to train in the Army's World Class Athlete Program.

"It really gave me the opportunity to train," Calway said. "Before that I was full-time in the Army with a child."

There's no secret to getting fast, she said. It's all about hard work. She ran in snow storms and on hot days. She ran while her head and body told her to stop, while Stanforth pedaled his bike at her shoulder and coaxed her on.

Video interview with Kelly Calway after July 4 Fun Run victory

"Not only the training, but all the things I learned brought me a long way," Calway said.

The training also helped her through some hard days while Chris was deployed to the Middle East. He returned in July, 2011, after a tough stretch.

"We had one Skype conversation that entire deployment," she said. "We did get a phone call now and then, but it was always quick, we didn't get a chance to connect."

Calway is a familiar face in the Colorado Springs running community. She is the two-time defending champion in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and she won the Palmer Lake Elementary July 4 Fun Run last year.

She insists that her running habit is not all about racing.

Calway keeps it real by wheeling Hazel around the Jack Quinn's Running Club 5K course on Tuesday evenings. And she loves to crunch gravel while exploring the area's backcountry trails.

Calway did not make the U.S. Olympic Marathon Team, but she isn't finished chasing a ticket to London.

"I came out of Houston having done exactly what I wanted to do," she said. "I feel like I've set myself up for the 2016 trials," she said.

Now she's turning her attention to the track and the 10,000-meter run.

"I've never ran a 10K on a track," she said. "I was a miler in college."

She hopes to qualify for the U.S. Track and Field Trials at the Stanford Invitational in April. She'll need a 32:45 to hit the 'B' standard qualification. With her marathon conditioning, she believes she currently has a 33:30 in her legs. Until then, she'll try to race on the track at the Air Force Academy.
And she'll try to have some fun, something she encourages all runners to do.

"I really love running," she said. "It's something I want to do forever. I want everyone to feel that. I tell people to have fun on their easy days. Put your watch down, put your Garmin down and just go run."