After running in the Boston Marathon on April 17, Gina McGee wasn’t sure she would be able to physically and mentally prepare herself for Saturday’s Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Saturday.

But her husband, Michael, a 1980 Wheeling Central graduate, talked her into it.

McGee, 40, finished the 12.4-mile run in 1:22.55, winning the Masters title for the women, and finishing as the sixth female to cross the finish line at 14th Street.

Shelley Ralston, 50, of Uniontown, Pa, finished the race in 1:35:47 to claim the Grand Masters crown.

“I love this race so I didn’t want to miss it,” McGee said. “The community is full of support, plus it’s very challenging with all the hills.

“With my husband being from the area, he always told me I should try running up the hill on 29th Street.”

McGee, a native of Latrobe, Pa., completed her fourth Ogden 20K Classic. Her time this year was her best, eclipsing that of 1:23.19 from 2005.

Her run was so dominant that she finished the course in almost six minutes faster than second-place Masters woman Laura Nelson of Woodstock, Va.

McGee has been running all her life but says the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic is one of her favorites — mainly because it was her first long-distance race.

“You really have to be in shape for this race, and I knew I could handle the other races after competing in this one,” McGee said. “Now I run two marathons and half a dozen races a year.”

Plus, she has plenty of support.

Michael McGee, 43, is also a runner. He finished second in the Men’s Masters division with a time of 1:16.20.

Their daughters Amanda, 11, and Casey Rose, 9, cheer from the sidelines.

“I don’t think about a lot when I’m out there,” McGee said. “You try to stay focused and relaxed, and when I feel like I’m getting tired, I think about my little girls.

“They send me my energy.”

McGee was one of 15 women invited to the Masters Elite division in Boston and placed an impressive fifth in the division.

She was the 29th woman and 11th American to cross the line in Boston with a time of 2:55.03. On Saturday, McGee was the 28th overall finisher in the Ogden race.

Ralston claimed the Grand Masters title in her first year of eligibility.

Last year, Ralston had the best time among females age 45-49 with a time of 1:29.46, a couple minutes faster than her time this year.

She finished 119th overall, compared to 83rd from a year ago.

Still, her time was almost five minutes faster than her next closest opponent in the Grand Masters Division, Adrianne Walker of Alexandria, Ohio.