Sondra Rose, a 78-year-old grandmother from Cedarhurst, ran in the New York City Marathon Sunday to raise money for lymphoma research.

It was Rose's second full marathon, and she was among the last people to finish. She even turned down a ride to the finish line after time expired. 

Marvin Rose, her husband of 54 years, greeted her at the finish line, nine hours after the start of her run. She says it's not about the time, it's about her grandson.

Rose began running after the couple's grandson, Jack, was diagnosed with lymphoma a little over seven years ago. 

"I had to come to grips with the fact that there was nothing I could do to change the diagnosis, which took me at least a week," Rose says. "Then I said, 'What can I do?'"

Soon after that, she discovered Team in Training, the fundraising arm of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. After training with the program, she has run in 18 half-marathons and one other full marathon, she says, raising about $350,000 in total.