Running has become a way of life for Cedar Heights Middle School teacher Shannon Bennett, and Sunday she ran in a 26.2 marathon in Rome, Italy.

The 33-year-old Bennett, who lives in Maple Valley, completed a goal of running in a marathon on each of the seven continents.

Her colleagues threw her a going away party at the school March 19 complete with spaghetti, salad and a big cake.

Bennett said the inspiration to run in the marathons came from an interest in traveling. She and her husband, Darren, enjoy traveling, “and this gives us a perfect excuse.”

Bennett said she ran her first marathon in Seattle in 2001.

“The training is 18 weeks, five days a week,” Bennett said.

She said her best time was 3 hours, 58 minutes in Australia.

“For the average person under four hours is a goal,” Bennett said.

After the marathon the health and fitness teacher said the race, “takes a toll on my body. I’ll be sore for a couple of days.”

The races Bennett has completed include the Portland Marathon in 2002, the Antarctica and South American marathons in 2005, the Gold Coast Marathon in Austrailia in 2006 and marathons in Thailand and South Africa in 2007.

After competing the goal of running a marathon on seven continents, Bennett said she had no plans to enter another marathon.