Home of: Becca Bontadelli

POLSON - Becca Bontadelli and her husband Tony know a thing or two about miles. They've traveled plenty of them, her in her passion and hobby, he in his job as an airline pilot, commuting and traveling throughout the United States and beyond. Becca is a marathon runner, having just completed her first Boston marathon and fourth marathon overall. Now the Polson-based family has found the town to be a great home for their pursuit of happiness.

"We have some land and it's just very peaceful and relaxing," she said. "With the job I have, I have a lot of time off to spend with my family, so I really like the lifestyle here."

Becca and Tony moved to Polson in June 2009 so Becca could take a job as an emergency room doctor at St. Joseph Medical Center. She originally thought she would take a position at St. Patrick's Hospital in Missoula, but found herself at the Polson Providence-owned medical facility.

Originally from Ohio, Becca's fit in nicely. Fresh out of 11 years of schooling, including undergraduate work, medical school and residency, she's already making her mark in the Lake County medical community.

"It's been a long haul, but it's nice now having a job and working and doing my job and not having to worry about tests," Becca said. "It's different every day; it's never the same exact thing."

With her and her husband's busy schedule, in addition to caring for their 17-month-old baby Jackson, things get hectic in their Jette Meadows home. Fortunately for her, Becca has a hobby that lets her clear her mind for a few hours. For the last several years, dating back to junior high school, Becca has had a love affair with running.

"My mom ran when I was younger and my older brother ran in junior high, and that was kind of the sport I got into," Becca, who also ran cross-country and track in college, said. "Then my two younger sisters got into it, and that's sort of what we do. I do enjoy it: it's exercise, it's a stress reliever."

She competed in the Boston Marathon on April 19, one of the biggest, and most exclusive, of the 26.2-mile races around the United States. To enter, Becca had to qualify with a time less than three hours and forty minutes at a certified marathon. She ran the Inland Trail Marathon in November 2009 in her hometown of Elyria, Ohio, qualifying with a time of three hours and thirty-five minutes. She took three weeks off before she started her 18-week training program leading up to the April race. The 475 miles she ran during training added up quickly, she said, sometimes turning her passion into a hassle.

"Some days it would be, ‘I have to go out and run,' not, ‘I want to go out and run," she said. "I'm looking forward to taking time off and having fun, more relaxed three to five mile runs."

The hard work, though, paid off, as Becca finished with a time of 3:46:57, good for 12,054 place out of 22,629 finishers. She was one of 52 runners to enter from Montana, and enjoyed her first trip out to Boston. The course was hard and hilly, she said, including the infamous Heartbreak Hill between miles 20 and 21, but her training had her ready.

"I did pretty good, but I think I maybe went out a little fast," Becca said of race day. "It's hard because there are like 500,000 spectators and they are literally lining both sides of the course the whole 26 miles. It's nothing I've ever experienced before. You kinda get really excited and people are cheering and screaming. It's hard to restrain yourself to go slower."

While Becca has a lot on her plate, her ambition isn't confined to her hobbies. She also will begin to study this summer for a medical board test to become American Board of Emergency Medicine certified. She took the written exam in November, passed, and will take the oral section in October. She lucked out: She could have had to take the test last week in Chicago immediately after the race, but wound up in the group that will take the test later. Now she can concentrate on her studying. If Becca passes the exam, she will be the only ABEM-certified employee at St. Joe's.

As for the next marathon, Becca will wait and see. But she will need another pair of Adidas running shoes before she starts racking up the miles again.

"It will be nice to get a break, but I'm sure I'll get the itch again and do another one," she said.