114th Boston Marathon; Faces in the crowd.

• Position: SPORTS

Byline: John Conceison

Monica Gow

Worcester - No. 24440

`I knew I'd do it again sometime," said Monica Gow, who is running her third Boston Marathon, but her first in 16 years.

Gaining the motivation to return to the marathon came easily for the stay-at-home mom of three. Two years ago, one of her children was diagnosed with narcolepsy, a sleep disorder that causes excessive sleepiness and frequent daytime sleep attacks. There is no cure for the disorder, with limited medical treatment. Here was a prime opportunity to raise funds to search for a cure.

Gow, her husband David and family friend Kevin Cosgrove, who was diagnosed with the condition in 2004, created the foundation Wake Up Narcolepsy. Last year the foundation raised about $35,000 through a golf tournament and other events.

Tomorrow Gow will team up with three other women and don the foundation's singlet, raising awareness and funds by toeing the line in Hopkinton.

Joining Gow will be Julie Flygare, who three years ago was diagnosed with the disorder, Crystal Ellis and Becky Polenski, who hails from Auburn.

"It is so often misdiagnosed and underdiagnosed," said Gow, who far exceeded her fundraising goal of $5,000 during the winter. "It's something that needs more awareness and understanding from the public, and more interest from the medical research community and pharmaceutical world to find a cure."

She hasn't competed at 26.2 since the '90s, but Gow has remained active in local races, anywhere between 3-6 miles, while making an effort to run the Tufts 10K in...