Julie Millard has no misconceptions about her chances in the Boston Marathon on Monday. She knows she will not join her great uncle Fred Cameron, who won the Boston Marathon in 1910, on the podium and in the family lore. That’s not why she’s running the prestigious race.

Millard earned a qualifying time for Boston in last year’s Sugarloaf Marathon. When Boston calls, you accept the charges.

Julie Millard, left, and running partner Susan Vogt Brooks pose on the steps of Miller Library at Colby College in Waterville on Thursday. Morning Sentinel photo by Michael G. Seamans

“If you qualify, you’ve got to do it,” Millard, 55, of Waterville, said.

Millard will run with her friend Susan Vogt Brooks, 59, of Benton. Brooks also qualified for Boston in the Sugarloaf Marathon last spring. This will be Millard’s fifth Boston Marathon. For Brooks, this is a second Boston. The first was 22 years ago, in 1997.

“I’ve wanted to go back for a while, but I have a very busy life,” Brooks said.

Millard last ran the Boston Marathon in 2010, to honor the 100th anniversary of Cameron’s victory. A native of Nova Scotia, Cameron was an unknown runner. When he took off to an early lead, the rest of the field let Cameron go, figuring he’d fall back to the pack soon enough.

Cameron never did.

“By the time they realized he was the real deal, it was too late,” Millard said.

Brooks counts Frederick Robie, Maine’s Governor from 1883 to 1887, as an ancestor. Like Millard, Brooks comes from a line of runners. Her father, Frank Vogt, now 92, was the longtime cross country coach at Gould Academy in Bethel.

“My sister and brothers ran (Boston). Dad would go and watched Johnny Kelley,” Brooks said, referring to the two-time winner and seven time runner-up in the Boston Marathon.

The day after Brooks ran the 1997 Boston Marathon, Adidas ran a full page ad in the Boston Globe. The ad featured a photo of a mass of runners approaching the finish line. In the middle of that group was Brooks, finishing in a solid 3 hours and 37 minutes.

“I wasn’t going for my best (time),” Brooks said. “I was going to do the Boston Marathon.”

Fred S. Cameron, a Nova Scotia native, won the 14th Boston Marathon in 1910. His niece, Julie Millard, of Waterville, is running the Boston Marathon on Monday. Contributed photo

Millard’s first Boston Marathon came 10 years before Brooks’, in 1987. Millard has vivid memories of the enthusiasm showed by Wellesley students, who were packed so tight along the course, runners had to pass through in single file. The students cheered loudly for every runner, Millard said.

“Everyone has a spring in their step after experiencing that tremendous support. It’s very uplifting,” Millard said.

Late in the course, Millard wondered how she would manage on the famous Heartbreak Hill. Turned out she had already run it.

“I’m going to feel it this time, I think,” Millard said.

Millard considers herself fortunate to be running the Boston Marathon this year. Last fall, a tumble down a flight of stairs resulted in a nasty broken wrist. Millard had surgery in November, and wondered if she’d recover in time to train for the race.

“Fortunately, I bounced back very quickly,” she said.

In preparation for the Boston Marathon, Millard and Brooks trained together. They were often joined by Ron Peck, who like Millard is a professor at Colby College and is a veteran Boston Marathon participant. Millard and Peck recently did a training run in Acadia National Park, running up and down Cadillac Mountain.

“Julie’s been great, and Ron, too,” Brooks said. “Julie and I are well-matched in terms of (ability).”

Added Millard: “We’ve done all our long runs together.”

The weather forecast for Monday in the Boston area calls for rain and temperatures in the 60s. Last year, colder temperatures combined with rain hit thousands of runners with hypothermia. According to race organizers, more than 2,500 runners received medical treatment, with 81 taken to a hospital. Millard said she’s less concerned about rain during the race than rain in Hopkinton as she waits to begin. When you get wet, you get cold. Millard planned to bring some disposable clothes to change into if she gets wet.

“I’m in the third wave (of runners) so there’s a lot of hanging around,” she said.

Brooks said if it’s not cold, the rain can be ideal for running conditions.

“Fifties and rain is OK with me. Fifties, rain and wind is not good,” Brooks said.

For Brooks, the Boston Marathon is a tune-up for her 60th birthday celebration. Her birthday coincides with the Sugarloaf Marathon, May 19.

“I plan to run until I can’t,” Brooks said. “I’m doing (Boston) for the experience.”

Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242

tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM