Natalie Morales Ready to Run

Natalie Morales has a pain in her ass and surprisingly, it's not Matt Lauer.

The Today Show cohost trained so hard to run the Boston Marathon that she strained her proximal hamstring.

“It is literally a pain in my butt,” says Morales, who is running the 26.2 miles to raise money for The One Fund and the Challenged Athletes Foundation charities to benefit victims. “It really is painful, but I’m hoping that with all of the adrenaline and the support of the crowd, that it will be mind over matter.”

The 41-year-old mother of two has five marathons under her belt, including a speedy 3 hour, 31-minute finish at Hartford in 2006. It’s been eight years and two pregnancies since that last feat, however, and getting back on track has been a labor of love.

“I’m over 40 now, which sucks,” she says. “The body doesn’t recover as easily as it did in my 30s when I do these long runs. Finding time to do a 2 1/2 hour 20-mile run is not easy.”

The Boston Marathon has always been on her running bucket list. After interviewing bombing survivors like Celeste Corcoran, who lost both her legs but plans to run the marathon’s last few feet on her prosthetics with her sister, Morales was inspired to tackle this iconic race at last.

“There’s not going to be a dry eye,” Morales says. “What’s really gonna get me through is knowing how amazing it’s going to be to be a part of that.”

H/T NY Daily News