This runner and triathlete Maria Fernandez from Upper Darby looked to her grandmother for inspiration, writes Emilia Benton for Runners World.

Maria Paredes Fernandez’ immigrant parents saw sports as something kids do for fun, but her late maternal grandmother, Mariana Zambrano de Fernandez, was enthusiastic about her sports pursuits.

 “She had this determination of really believing in something and going through with it, which is something that I carry with me today,” Fernandez said.

The two grew close while Fernandez was a teenager and stayed close after Fernandez got into cross-country running at Penn State.

Now 38, Fernandez has kept up with running recreationally.

She’s completed six marathons, including the 2015 Boston Marathon, and plans to run the Berlin and New York City marathons this fall.

In 2018, Fernandez stopped running for a while when she injured her foot, focusing on swimming and stationary bike workouts.

 “I said to myself, ‘Well, that’s two-thirds of a triathlon; I might as well sign up for one,” she says.

She has since completed in several IRONMAN competitions. She plans to compete at the IRONMAN 70.3 Mont-Tremblant in Quebec next June, hoping to eventually make it to the World Championships.

Read more about Maria Paredes Fernandez and the inspiration she received from her grandmother at Runners World.