BOSTON, Mass. – Teenage Nicolette Schmidt of Redfield might never have imagined that her future self would actually live out her dream.

But the Augustana graduate, full-time job holder, who now has a career Nicolette Schmidt did just that, turning a middle school dream into reality after running in the Boston Marathon earlier this year.

Running a marathon is certainly not on everyone’s bucket list, but Schmidt could never quite scratch it off of hers.

“Honestly, it had always been in the back of my mind since middle school that I wanted to run the Boston Marathon,” she said. “Ever since I saw it in a running magazine, I just knew I wanted to accomplish that someday.”

But between middle school and a teaching career came a highly-decorated high school career followed by five years at Augustana University – and an injury that somewhat short-circuited her senior season with the Vikings.

Still, despite that, New England kept calling.

“I gave myself a little bit of time to recover from (the injury), and then I decided I wanted to set my sights on Boston,” Schmidt said.

She, along with one of her former coaches at Augustana, put together a training regimen and Schmidt squeezed in runs after work and on the weekends.

“I didn’t have time to do as many workouts as I would have liked to,” Schmidt admitted. I kept a pretty close mock of what my calendar week would look like in college.”

However, one does not simply walk to the starting line of the Boston Marathon and announce one’s intent to race. There are standards, after all. Qualifying ones.

So, naturally, Schmidt chose something relatively local, but difficult – Deadwood in the summer. Chosen for its terrain, Schmidt reasoned that the Deadwood Marathon would help prepare her for the hills she knew existed along the Boston route.

“I was just happy to be out there,” she said. “I ended my college career on an injury and I was just really happy to be running and doing it competitively and feeling healthy. That was really motivating to me, kind of my comeback to running. I was by myself for the whole second half out in Deadwood. It was a lot of mental talk with myself. I kept checking my watch and knew I was going to make that qualifying time, so that’s what kept me going.”

She did not intend to emerge victorious in that inaugural entry into the marathon world, but win it she did, claiming the top spot in the female division in addition to earning her entry into Boston.

There, she bested her Deadwood time all while absorbing a dream come true.

“The last two turns you take (at Boston) – there were people the whole way, but the amount of people that were at the finish line part and those last two turns, it was just surreal. … When I stopped, I was just really proud of myself and really grateful for everyone that has supported me and all the work I put in to get to that. It was cool to just take it all in,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt added that the difference between the two races was mostly in atmosphere, though the feeling of accomplishment existed throughout the training process.

“The Boston experience was amazing and everything I hoped it would be,” she said. “But that was just the cherry on top. The work was leading up to that. The marathon itself didn’t feel like the challenge. All of my training leading up to that was honestly the hardest part, just staying dedicated and on task with what I wanted to accomplish. Once I got to Boston, I just wanted to have fun and experience it and take it all in.”

Schmidt said her parents and boyfriend traveled with her to the race and were able to see her around the halfway mark, which she noted was a special moment. Knowing approximately where they were going to be and feeling pretty strong in the moment, Schmidt said she wanted to make sure she saw them as well.

“I got my phone out and called my boyfriend and was like ‘Which side of the road are you on?’ she said. He was like, ‘Why are you calling me?’ I said, ‘I’m feeling really good right now.’ So I knew which side of the road to look for them. He and my dad are both really tall, so I was able to spot them right away.”

Schmidt will soon begin another year of teaching at Tea Area, and is giving herself a bit of time to reset physically. But her marathon career is far from over. In fact, if anything, she pulled a little more inspiration from the people she encountered in Boston.

“It’s cool at Boston, you’re seeing all these people at the hotels and everything and there were quite a few people that had a six-star medals for the six world majors,” Schmidt said. “Boston is the only one you have to qualify for, but once you complete all of them you get this special medal. That’s something I’ve thrown around. But I’m just taking some time right now to let my body reset. Ideally the next one I’d like to do is the New York Marathon.”

Middle school Nicolette, most assuredly, would approve.

“The people, and the energy (at Boston) was just something I’d never experienced before and I’m just so blessed that I got to experience that. … That will forever be one of my favorite running memories.”