BOSTON, Mass. — Elizabeth Ihlenfeld Rodgers knew for months she would be running the Boston Marathon.

She didn’t know someone would be along for the ride.

Rodgers, a Chicora resident and daughter of Butler Family YMCA executive director Sandy Ihlenfeld, learned she was pregnant with her fourth child nine weeks ago while training for the legendary race.

“I was just starting to get into my longer training runs, 17 miles or so,” Rodgers said. “This was a complete surprise. We had not been trying to have a baby. Why would we, knowing I was training for this race?

Rodgers and her husband, Gerry Rodgers III, have been married for a year. She has three children, all daughters, ages 11, 6 and 1.

“When we found out I was pregnant, my husband and I talked about whether to go through with the marathon,” Rodgers said. “He was super supportive. I just changed my focus was all.

“Instead of racing the marathon, my goal became to finish the marathon. I think it worked out better. I was able to relax and enjoy the experience rather than glance at my watch all the time.”

A marathon runner for 15 years, Rodgers, 37, qualified for Boston with a time of 3 hours, 35 minutes. She ran a qualifying time at the Philadelphia Marathon and Niagara Falls International Marathon. Her original goal was to match her qualifying time at the Boston event.

Her finishing time was 4 hours, 40 minutes. She ran the marathon with a shirt worded: “Baby’s First Race.”

“I was 100 percent in favor of her running,” Gerry Rodgers III said. “I was even more excited about it than before we discovered she was pregnant. Running her first Boston Marathon with a baby on board ... That’s kind of unheard of.

“While she was running, though, I was nervous the whole time. It was a pretty emotional time.”

He wasn’t alone in that regard.

“I cried a lot the entire weekend,” his wife said.

A 2002 Butler graduate, Rodgers was a member of the Golden Tornado track and field team, but not as a runner. She was a jumper and thrower.

“I wasn’t very good in any event,” she said, laughing. “I joined the team mainly for social reasons. I didn’t start running until I was 18. Running served as stress relief for me and I started getting into it.”

Her uncle, Gary Hilliard, has run the Boston Marathon three times. He lives in the state of California, so Rodgers never actually trained with him.

She began running 5k and 10k events, eventually working her way up to the Clarion Half-Marathon — a race she thought may have been her last.

“It was so cold that day,” Rodgers recalled. “It snowed and I wasn’t properly prepared for that race. I thought I would never run again.

“Then I figured I should have known better, trained harder. That’s when I began to get serious about my training.”

She ran marathons in Akron, Cleveland, Erie and Pittsburgh before qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Rodgers planned to run Boston in 2019, but her name was not selected to join the race.

The 2020 Boston Marathon was canceled due to COVID-19. The 2021 event was moved to October.

“I was just coming off having my third child, so that wasn’t going to work,” Rodgers said. “But once you qualify for Boston, you’re eligible for three years, so this was the year.”

Gerry Rodgers III has never been a runner himself. He raced dirt bikes for a number of years.

“I’m sure she would love it if I ran with her,” Gerry said of his wife. “It’s just not for me. But I was with her every step of the way. This was a great day.”

Rodgers said she will continue to run a few miles each day as long as she’s physically able. During her previous pregancies, she said she ran until she was four months along. She does CrossFit training two times a week as well.

“It’s taken about a year once I have a baby for my body to get back into running shape again,” she said. “I’ll continue to stay fit. As I get older, it takes a little longer to bounce back. But I’ll do marathons again.

“I’d love to go back and run Boston again someday. That’s definitey a goal ... I just don’t know when it will be.”