This past weekend was pretty standard for Swampscott resident Badia Eskandar. After finishing up a busy work week, she enjoyed her free time on Saturday by running a marathon.

On Sunday, rather than resting after running 26.2 miles the day prior, Eskandar went out and ran another marathon.

In total, May was a five-marathon month for Eskandar, 49, who has lived in Swampscott since 2010, bringing her lifetime total to 93 marathons completed.

Eskandar grew up in Jordan and moved to the U.S, at age 17 to pursue an education. Around that time, she fell in love with running due to the unique accessibility of the sport.

“I’ve always been athletic, but I didn’t play a sport in college,” said Eskandar. “Running is easy. You just put sneakers on and go. I love the sport because it’s a great equalizer. There are no barriers to join.”

Eskandar attended the University of Washington for her undergraduate degree and then Duke University for her graduate studies. Today, she works as a physical therapist at Mass General Brigham Hospital in Boston.

Ever since she started running, she has kept going, but Eskander really started to get serious about marathon running after having children.

“When you have the kids, the world is about them, along with my work,” said Eskandar. “I needed something that was about me.”

While running marathons and 50-mile ultra marathons, Eskandar met a lot of people in the running community and learned of a popular, but difficult, challenge of running a marathon on every continent.

Eskandar formed a goal for herself to join the club of people who have run a marathon on all seven continents. Once she checked that box, Eskandar moved on to running a marathon in all 50 states, which she completed in 2022.

She has run marathons in Rio De Janeiro, on top of glaciers in Greenland and even in the desert in her native country of Jordan, which Eskandar said is the most difficult marathon she has ever run because of the severe heat.

Eskandar’s current goal is to cross the finish line of her 100th marathon by the time she turns 50, which will be in March of next year.

“It’s not a conscious choice,” said Eskandar. “I need the running to keep me functioning.”

Every single morning, no matter the weather, Eskandar starts her day with a run around the streets of Swampscott at 4 a.m., armed with a headlamp and a can full of pennies to make noise – To scare any coyotes away. She gave credit to the town of Swampscott for doing an excellent job keeping sidewalks and roads clean and safe.

“When it comes to work and kids, everything is out of my control,” said Eskandar. “Running is the one thing that I can control.”

Daily morning runs set the tone for the day, Eskandar said. Without her run, she’s just not herself.

“During my run I think about what I have to do that day, week and month,” said Eskandar. “Then I’m ready to take on the day.”

Once a week, Eskandar runs home from Boston to Swampscott. She keeps a bag of running clothes with her at all times, just in case – like the one time her train stopped working and she needed to make it to work.

“I was late, but I made it,” joked Eskandar.

While marathon running, Eskandar uses “mind games” to distract herself and help pass the time. At the fourth mile of every race, she thinks of her four children. At the 14th mile marker, she remembers every detail from her 14th birthday party.

“Any endurance sport is a long mental game,” said Eskandar. “You think to distract yourself, and time flies.”

In her earbuds, Eskandar likes listening to podcasts, audio books and NPR news during races, but she never listens to music.

She also has a couple of signatures to leave her own twist on a race. She always crosses the finish line with a jumping click of her heels. In each of the eight Boston Marathons Eskandar has run, she has worn a different goofy hat.

Eskandar urges anybody that has interest in starting the preparation process to marathon running to go for it.

“Do it!” she said. “It’s normal to get exhausted quickly early on. Anybody and everybody can run. I started in college with no money. You need resources for other sports. For running, all you need is yourself.”

Eskandar’s key to a successful marathon starts days and weeks in advance.

“It starts before the marathon, eat healthy and hydrate,” said Eskandar. “You have to fuel accordingly during the race, drinking enough and taking enough sodium. For me it’s down to a science, I know now exactly how much sodium I need during a race.”

These days, Eskandar said she never sits down after getting home from a marathon.

“I walk into the house and I hear, ‘What’s for dinner?” she said.