Six months after Wendy Martinez was murdered while out for a run in her neighborhood, her fiancé is close to fulfilling her lifelong dream — racing in the Boston Marathon.

Daniel Hincapie will join a team put together by the Lingzi Foundation, a group that honors Lu Lingzi, who died during the marathon bombing in 2013.

“It’s a great privilege. [The marathon] is an elite competition,” Hincapie said.

Martinez, 35, was stabbed to death in September while jogging in D.C.’s Logan Circle. The man accused of the crime, Anthony Crawford, is awaiting indictment.

Before running came with tragedy, it was a source of joy for the couple. Their relationship began when Martinez helped Hincapie gear up for his first half marathon.

Martinez knew he was nervous about the race, so she gave him workout tips, along with advice on how to stay focused, he said.

The two regularly trained together, but Hincapie couldn’t keep up with her pace. He recalled times when she ran miles ahead of him, and then did stationary exercises while waiting for him to catch up.

“She used to be way faster than me,” Hincapie said.

Running is an expression of freedom for Hincapie. It also serves as a coping mechanism. He is training three to five days during the week and logs some long runs on the weekends, all while trying to eat healthy so he doesn’t gain weight before the marathon on April 15.

“She would be just rooting for me every day to stay within the parameters of my training,” Hincapie said of Martinez.

“Every time I go for a run, I think about her, I connect. I think about us and I feel recharged … I can picture her training right next to me.”

Cora Martinez, Wendy Martinez’s mother, is still mourning her daughter. “She was my daughter and friend. [She is] one of the greatest gifts I have ever received in life,” she said.

She’s proud of Hincapie’s latest effort to honor her memory. “We know he’s doing this out of love,” Cora Martinez said.

In November, Hincapie co-founded the Wendy Martinez Legacy Project, a foundation that works to advance goals that were important to her, like advancing women in the technology industry and promoting community through running. 

All funds raised by Hincapie as he trains for the marathon will go toward the foundation, which also receives support from FiscalNote, where Martinez worked as chief of staff.

FiscalNote is Roll Call’s parent company.