Drew Carter, Celtics commentator for NBC Sports Boston
Drew Carter, the Celtics’ play-by-play voice on NBC Sports Boston, is running the Boston Marathon to benefit the Shamrock Foundation, a Celtics program designed to support children in need.
He has raised $5,364 toward his $10,000 goal.
Last year was Carter’s first as a Celtics broadcaster. He watched some of the race from near the finish line and saw how it is such an important part of the city’s fabric.
“I just thought it was the coolest scene ever,” Carter told the Globe. “It was just awesome to be around the finish line and see everybody come through and feel the energy and the support. It felt like the whole city was there.”
Zdeno Chara, Bruins legend
Zdeno Chara, the former Bruins captain and future NHL Hall of Famer, ran Boston for the first time in 2023 then again in 2024.
At 6 foot 9, Chara towers over the competition, making him easy to spot along the course.
He turned in a time of 3:30:53 in Boston a year ago, then flew to London and dropped a time of 3:11:04 six days later. Chara has now run half a dozen marathons and recently began competing in Ironman triathlons.
Alice Cook, former WBZ sports reporter and Olympic figure skater
This year will be Alice Cook’s second year running the race (her third time overall) since being diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in December 2023.
The disease robbed her ability to speak, but Cook, 69, has remained able to run and maintain an active lifestyle despite the diagnosis.
Cook is running in support of the charity Compassionate Care ALS, which supports people with ALS and their families. To contribute, go here.
Matt James, former Bachelor
Since competing on “The Bachelor” in 2021, Matt James has done a bit of everything.
He finished in 12th place in season 30 of “Dancing With The Stars,” became a food influencer (887k followers on Instagram), and started running marathons, all while working in commercial real estate in New York City.
James, who played college football at Wake Forest, ran the New York Marathon in 2022 and 2023. This will be his second year competing in the Boston Marathon, and while running, he will be serving as a field correspondent for ESPN and WCVB.
Scott Stallings, PGA Tour golfer
Hailing from Worcester, Scott Stallings has three career wins on the PGA Tour.
Running the Boston Marathon “seems like the perfect way to celebrate my 40th birthday and raise some money for a great cause in the process,” Stallings wrote in a post for his marathon fundraiser, which is raising money for Golf Fights Cancer.
Paula Radcliffe, former marathon world record holder
Before this year, Paula Radcliffe, 51, hadn’t run a marathon since London in 2015, but she picked up right where she left off earlier this year, running the Tokyo Marathon in 2:57:26. Boston will be her second marathon in six weeks.
Racliffe, from Great Britain, held the marathon world record for 16 years, from 2003-2019, with her time of 2:15:25.
Henry Richard, brother of 2013 bombing victim Martin Richard
After the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing killed his younger brother, Martin, and seriously injured his mother, Denise, and sister, Jane, Henry Richard returned almost every year to Boylston to watch the race.
He has now run every Boston Marathon since 2022, participating on behalf of Team MR8, a group representing the Martin Richard Foundation.
This year, he will be running and fundraising to benefit the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation, which raises funds to empower young athletes facing adversity.
Shane Sager, Sting’s harmonica player
Shane Sager, a Boston-based musician, plays the harmonica with Sting. He ran last year’s Marathon in support of the Mass General Marathon Team raising money for pediatric cancer research and finished in 4:08:08.
Troy Hoyt, grandson of Dick Hoyt
Dick and Rick Hoyt were staples of the Boston Marathon for decades, as the father-son duo completed 32 races together, which Dick pushing his son, Rick, in a wheelchair along the course.
Rick, a quadriplegic who had cerebral palsy, died last May, two years after his father.
Troy Hoyt, one of Dick’s grandsons, has run the past two Marathons in Dick and Rick’s honor. He raised money along the way for Team Hoyt, part of the Hoyt Foundation, which was formed with the goal of building “the individual character, self-confidence, and self-esteem of America’s young people with disabilities through inclusion in all facets of daily life,” according to its website.
Emily Maher, WCVB reporter
A general assignment reporter for WCVB, Maher ran the Boston Marathon for the first time last year in support of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.
This year, she will be running in support of the Matt Brown Foundation, which raises money to support people and families navigating the challenges of paralysis.
Dave Fortier, 2013 Boston Marathon bombing survivor
While running the Boston Marathon in 2013 in support of a friend, Fortier was injured by the first bomb. He suffered shrapnel wounds and hearing loss.
After the attack, Fortier and other survivors were moved by the support offered to them by the Semper Fi Fund, a group of veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. That support led Fortier to found the One World Strong Foundation, where he now serves as president.
He has run more than dozen marathons since that first race in 2013, including Boston last year.
Brian Diemer, 1984 Olympic steeplechase bronze medalist
Representing Team USA, Brian Diemer won bronze in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. He was also the 1983 NCAAA steeplechase champion for the University of Michigan.
He will be running with his daughter, McKenzie Pluymert.
Lexi Watts, Isabelle Jensen, and Lizzie Ramey, running influencers
Watts, Jensen, and Ramey are close friends and content creators who live in Utah and share running videos with their 583,000 combined followers on TikTok and Instagram.
They’ve become known for donning colorful — and often matching — outfits and dancing along the trails during training runs and races.
Hellen Obiri, 2023 and 2024 winner
Kenya’s Hellen Obiri, who won the women’s open division in 2023 and 2024, will be gunning for her third straight Boston title, a feat only four women have accomplished. The most recent was Ethiopia’s Fatuma Roba (1997-99).
Sisay Lemma, 2024 winner
Lemma arrived in Boston for the 128th Boston Marathon having come up short three times in seven years, dropping out in 2017 and 2022 and finishing 30th in 2019. He put those failures behind him, running the final 20 miles alone to win the race by 41 seconds in 2:06:17.
Amby Burfoot, 1968 winner
During his senior year at Wesleyan in 1968, Burfoot won the Boston Marathon. More than a 50 years later, Burfoot has completed the race more than a dozen times, including a 4:59:58 mark in 2024.
Evans Chebet, 2022 and 2023 winner
Kenya’s Evans Chebet won Boston in 2022 and 2023 and finished in third place a year ago.
Lelisa Desisa, 2013 and 2015 winner
Desisa, of Ethiopia, won Boston twice, in 2013 and 2015. He also won a World Championship in the marathon in 2019 and took silver in 2013.
Des Linden, 2018 winner
This year’s race will be Linden’s 12th time competing in the Boston Marathon, a streak which included a win for the American in 2018.
Edna Kiplagat, 2017 and 2021 winner
With the 2017 title already under her belt, Kiplagat was awarded the 2021 women’s title after original winner Diana Kipyokei was stripped of her title for doping.
Sharon Cherop
Cherop, of Kenya, won Boston in 2012 amid soaring temperatures on race day.
Marcel Hug, seven-time winner
Wheelchair athlete and course record-holder Marcel Hug of Switzerland will be racing for his third straight Boston title — and his eighth overall.
Daniel Romanchuk, 2019 and 2022 winner
Romanchuk, of the U.S., and Hug, of Switzerland, are the only two competitors to have won the men’s wheelchair division in the past decade.
Joshua Cassidy
Cassidy, of Canada, set a course record (1:18:25) with his win in 2012, before Hug bested his mark for the first time five years later.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper, 2024 winner
Rainbow-Cooper pulled off an unexpected win last year, as the 22-year-old coasted to victory in a stacked field, making her Great Britain’s first Boston champion in the women’s wheelchair division.
Manuela Schar, four-time winner
Schar, of Switzerland, won her first title and set the course record in the women’s wheelchair division in 2017, then won three more times from 2019-2022.
Susannah Scaroni, 2023 winner
Scaroni, of the U.S., unseated Schar with her win in 2023, becoming the first American since Tatyana McFadden (2018) to win the women’s wheelchair division.
Tatyanna McFadden, five-time winner
McFadden has five wins in Boston to her name, including four straight from 2013-16.
Emma can be reached at [email protected] or on X @_EmmaHealy_.
