Diane Mimmo poses in front of the Johnny Kelley statue on Newton’s Heartbreak Hill.

The 2023 Boston Marathon will be a “first-ever marathon, period” for Diane Mimmo.

“I always said that I would never do it, that I would never have the time — I also have a full-time job and a family,” she said. “But it’s a bit of a rabbit hole. … After you run your first 10K, and then you run your first half, and then you start thinking like, ‘Oh, OK, maybe I could do this, and I do want to do this.’ ”

Mimmo, a tax partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and mother to two boys (ages 14 and 20), started running in 2012 as a way to manage stress and achieve better general health.

“It was important for me to find activities that would give me a break from my computer screen,” she said, “and it was kind of transformational in my life. I fell in love with running, and I’ve been running ever since.”

Running soon expanded to other forms of exercise — such as CrossFit, Peloton, spin classes — and also led to more mindfulness about nutrition. Mimmo said she can definitely feel a difference since embracing a healthier lifestyle.

“I feel like, from an overall wellness perspective, it’s been crucial to my well-being,” she shared.

Mimmo moved to Hopkinton from Whitinsville eight years ago and believes living in the area and witnessing the annual excitement at the Boston Marathon encouraged her to enter the race.

“As a community, I think we support fitness, and running in particular, because of the presence of the Marathon. … I feel like if I hadn’t moved here and experienced the starting line every year, I might not have been motivated to do this. So I really do credit the town itself and the community we have here,” Mimmo remarked.

Because fitness is such an integral part of her life and because she recognizes its many positive effects, Mimmo is running to benefit the MetroWest YMCA (givengain.com/ap/diane-mimmo-raising-funds-for-metrowest-ymca).

The YMCA, per its website, “helps people build a healthy spirit, mind and body.” The organization’s areas of focus are youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Among its many programs, services and events are a diabetes prevention program, Parkinson’s disease wellness program, nutrition and weight loss program, lifeguard and CPR training, and Y Night for Teens.

Mimmo also appreciates that the YMCA fosters a sense of community, and added that several of her friends’ children enjoy the Y’s classes and activities and “value that space and the experience.”

To prepare for the 26.2 miles in April, Mimmo has been following the training plan posted by the Marathon Coalition — of which the YMCA is a member — which hosts group runs every Saturday morning in Brookline. She also belongs to the Hopkinton Running Club, which she said helps keep her motivated for training.

“There seems to be an inordinate number of women from Hopkinton this year running the Marathon,” she said, and noted that with so many people training, “It’s very easy to stay on track.”

Although her declared mission is to promote and support fitness, Mimmo clearly shares a value expressed by the slogan on the YMCA’s About Us page: “It’s not a club, it’s a community!”