Theo Chisholm needed an outlet to cope with stress brought on by the death of her beloved sister, Bettye, 13 years ago. She found it in running. Nine marathons later, the Stamford woman says it's still the best way to clear her head.

"It helped me with the healing,'' says Theo, who will run her third Boston Marathon on April 18. "I had never been serious about running before that. My husband (Sam) says I'm still not serious about it."

Chisholm runs for the same reasons as when she started. She's semi-retired after a long career at IBM, where running helped her handle job-related

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Roberta Andreasi runs three times a week, doesn't wear a fancy watch and rarely ventures outside to train. The minimalist marathoner will make her Boston debut when she stands on the starting line at the Boston Marathon on April 18.

"I got this Garmin watch, and I couldn't understand it, so I got rid of it on eBay,'' says Roberta, who lives in Norwalk and works in Stamford. "I don't even tie my hair back when I run. All you see is this big, floppy hair coming at you."

Boston will be the third marathon for Roberta, who also ran the Disney Marathon in 2008 (5:02.30)

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