Flying Pig winner takes shot at the Olympics

She runs to compete. She runs for her kids. She runs for herself.

And on Saturday, Amy Robillard, 36, of Montgomery will run in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles.

Robillard has won the Flying Pig the last two years in a row but qualifying for the trials has been a goal of hers for years. The goal was set aside for a while for marriage, motherhood, and caring for a child with medical needs.

She began running because she loved the competition but later found she needed it as her therapy to process life's ups and downs.

"I think about everything," Robillard said. "Every time I come home from a run ... I feel better. It gets out anxiety and it gets out stress. The big things ... and the little things that just come with being a parent."

Previously a college swimmer at the University of Arizona, Robillard was a fish out of water when she began running. She initially didn't know what she was doing and her form was off but she was hooked as soon as the runner's high set in.

Robillard married her husband, Matt, shortly after she began running competitively and the couple had a daughter, Adalene, who is now 8. The small family was ecstatic to learn of a second pregnancy in 2010, but when Robillard gave birth to son Jameson, something was wrong.

He was born with a rare genetic disorder called Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome. The newborn had an immune deficiency and needed a bone marrow transplant, which he received along with chemotherapy at the age of 5 months.

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center became a second home to the family during Jameson's treatment.

Robillard struggled with the lack of control that comes with having a sick child, with balancing her family's needs and finding a few hours to spend with then 3-year-old Adalene who waited at home with grandparents.

"I needed an outlet to get out this frustration and sadness. I was not okay." Robillard said. She had taken a break from running but found that she needed it to cope.

"I was mad that it happened to him, that our daughter was going through it, that life wasn't fair. I was just mad."

She began power-walking in the hospital hallways at 2 a.m. Then she started jogging, then running. She said running helped her be more optimistic and a better mom.

Now 5 years old, Jameson's bright eyes and mischievous grin give no indication of his previous health problems. He is doing well but has regular doctors visits.

Robillard now runs out of joy instead of anger.

She often thinks of her to-do list as she runs, and it helps her manage her hectic schedule, which includes school, doctors appointments for Jameson, and swim meets for Adalene. The busy mom also coaches cross country at Ursuline Academy and the Mason Manta Rays swim team.

And then there's training.

Adalene and Jameson frequently join their mother during her workouts in the small gym in their home's basement. They often dance to music videos together and sometimes will leave Robillard notes to "run faster" on the gym's small chalkboard.

Robillard's family plans to cheer her on from the sidelines as she runs in the Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles on Saturday. She said she isn't dwelling on her performance, she is still "dumbfounded" at her success.

Robillard qualified to run in the Olympic trials by running in the Chevron Houston Marathon in Texas on Jan. 17.

Her intention was to simply run a personal best time but after the first mile, Robillard saw that she was running about 20 seconds faster than normal.

"I got this glimmer of hope," she said. "Maybe I can [qualify], maybe I can't. I had two decisions, go with it or panic."

She went with it.

Matt Robillard tracked the Houston race while officiating  Adalene's swim meet in Montgomery. Another parent in the stands gave him updates on Robillard's time, so when she called him after the race he wasn't surprised at the news.

"Usually, when Amy finishes a race she is very chatty and still composed but when she finished this race you could tell it took a lot out of her," he said. "She was very excited but trying to gather herself as well."

Amy Robillard finished with a time of 2 hours and 44 minutes, improving on her Flying Pig time of 2:53:10.

Her time allowed her to move on to the Olympic Trials. The Olympics only accept the top three male and female runners and Robillard doesn't think she will make the cut but she is excited to participate.

Her participation, though, was uncertain till the last minute thanks to an injury during a recent 15-mile Sunday morning run.

After seeing about six doctors in three days, she was cleared to run Saturday but must take a four-week break afterwards.

"Since this new injury, my goal is now to simply just finish, to still enjoy the experience, not cause permanent damage but also have a respectable time for the race."

Robillard, like many runners, is no stranger to injury.

In October 2014 she broke her leg and a rib when she fell during a run in the woods near her home. Robillard remembers feeling dazed and looking up at the sky through the trees, then crawling to her cell phone to call her husband who found and carried her out of the woods 45 minutes later.

After suffering a hip stress fracture in the May Flying Pig, Robillard  joined Beyond Exercise, a training and physical therapy facility in Oakley, to perfect her running technique and learn how to prevent future injuries.

Owner Eric Oliver has worked with Robillard on form and strength building.

Oliver is Robillard's physical therapist, coach, and occasional shrink she said jokingly. There is a familiarity between the two that made them seem like longtime friends as Robillard carried a conversation with Oliver during a workout. She talks almost as fast as she runs.

After Robillard sustained another stress fracture in August, she trained on Beyond Excerise's Alter G Anti-Gravity treadmill, which allows the runner to control how much of their own weight they carry while training.

"We used the treadmill as a way to save her legs so she wasn't pounding the pavement but she still got a good workout in," Oliver said. "We have to let her body heal but we also have to keep her sharp."

In roughly 10 years of running competitively, Robillard said she has participated in too many races to count.

"I truly just go out there and have fun. I don't stress about the racing part," she said.

"I'm just hoping to run faster or run the same time," she said. "And to maybe be an inspiration to people — that you don't have to be this big-time professional runner. You can go to trials, have a respectable race and come back home and be a mom with two kids and still have a life."