One more race to go for 'Marathon Goddess'

LOS ANGELES, March 16 (UPI) -- The Internet's so-called Marathon Goddess says she expects her late father will cross her mind when she crosses the finish line at the Los Angeles Marathon.

Julie Weiss will complete her 52nd marathon in as many weeks when she finishes Sunday's run through LA, a quest she undertook to raise public awareness of pancreatic cancer, which killed her dad in 2010.

"It's going to be overwhelming, I know there's going to be exhaustion and tears, a lot of tears," Weiss, whose website is called Marathon Goddess, told the Los Angeles Times. "I know I am going to be thinking of my father. He is going to be with me every step of the way; he is going to be the wind at my back."

Weiss, 42, of Santa Monica, counted on her father, Maurice, to help her train for the marathon as she used long-distance running to overcome depression and lose weight.

He died one week before she finally qualified for the Boston Marathon.

Weiss has since been running to raise money for the Pancreatic Cancer Network and has competed in weekend races across the United States and in Canada and Rome -- all while holding a full-time job.