Desiree Linden became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years this week. But the last woman to cross the finish line has a pretty great story too.

Mary Shertenlieb is a mom from Boston that has beaten cancer three times. She was originally diagnosed about five years ago with a type of leukemia called AML, and had two relapses.

She wanted to do the marathon to raise money for charity, and her doctors gave her the okay. But Mary had to stop around mile 15 after showing signs of hypothermia.

It was in the 30s all day, with freezing rain and wind. More than 2,700 runners needed medical treatment, over 10% of all the people who ran.

But Mary refused to quit. She waited more than four hours for the rain to stop, then ran another eleven miles and finished with her husband at 12:18 A.M., about 13 hours after she started.

She also raised a ton of money for cancer research by running. Her goal was $15,000 and she ended up bringing in more than 40 grand.

Read more at CBS News.

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