Valerie Bertinelli completes Boston Marathon ahead of her 50th birthday

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Actress and Jenny Craig spokeswoman Valerie Bertinelli celebrated her upcoming 50th birthday by completing the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Clocking in at five hours and 14 minutes for the 26.2-mile trek, the star raised more than $17,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

‘I’m still in awe of the fact that I just ran the Boston Marathon,” Bertinelli told friends and supporters after the race.

Bertinelli lost 40 pounds with Jenny Craig in 2007, maintaining her figure through 2009 when she entered her first marathon in Sonoma Valley. Before the big run in Boston, Bertinelli carb-loaded with a pasta dinner. then stopped to visit with Dana-Farber patients.

‘I was more motivated than ever to do this for them. In fact, throughout the course of the run, there were many moments where I needed that extra push, and thinking of them and seeing their faces was all I needed,’ Bertinelli said in a statement.

The ‘One Day at a Time’ actress turns 50 on Friday.

-- Matt Donnelly

The Annex of Working on My Fitness has the latest in celeb health and hard bodies. We’re flexing our headlines daily on Twitter and Facebook.