By Jennifer Holmes

Contributing Writer

LAPLACE – “I was too good to run with girls, said Coach Monica, so he made me run with boys,” said Nicole Tregre as she smiled, and gazed off, lost in the memory, the moment that shaped her future.

LaPlace resident Tregre, 30, will be running in the 116th annual Boston Marathon on April 16, 2012.

“It’s a big marathon that every runner wants to do,” said Tregre.

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon. It covers 36 miles and 385 yards beginning in Hopkinton, Mass., and ending in Boston. Potential female candidates must participate in a certified race and must obtain a qualifying time of 3 hours and 40 minutes or less. Tregre qualified for the Boston Marathon by competing in the Memphis St. Jude Marathon with a time of 3 hours and 16 minutes.

Tregre has competed in many prestigious races, but her fondest memories are the local races and the Marine’s Marathon in Washington, D.C., in 2007.

At the Marine’s Marathon, Tregre qualified for the Boston Marathon. But soon thereafter she became an expecting mother with her first child, Baileigh, so she was not able to compete in the Boston Marathon, but she still had the satisfaction of being accepted.

Tregre began running 15 years ago at St. Charles Catholic High School. There she participated in swimming, cross country and track. She credits most of her success to Coach Frankie Monica. According to Tregre, he was a major influence that always pushed her to her full potential and never allowed her to give up.

“I love running,” said Tregre. “It‘s so relaxing to me, and now, since I’m older, my big motivation is my kids. And I like to run for charity.”

With passion, ambition and a keen work ethic, it is no surprise that Tregre does not require the assistance of a personal trainer. Now she enjoys the luxury of running alone. According to Tregre, it’s a time when she can think about her life, go over achievements and mistakes and ponder on the future.

“There’s nights when I’m up all hours with kids, and I still get up at 4:30 every morning and push myself,” said Tregre.

On average she runs at least four miles a day, and when she’s training she runs for 63 miles a week.

Being a mother and wife, her life can be hectic, but she offers this advice to anyone who has something in his or her life they hope to achieve: “Don’t ever give up. You have to push yourself. You can‘t let anything stop you.”