Matt Kenseth
Brian Lawdermilk//Getty ImagesUsually racing on four wheels, the NASCAR driver made his two-legged 26.2 race debut at the 2019 Berlin Marathon with an impressive 3:07:40 finishing time. He went on to run the 2019 New York City Marathon just a month later, clocking 3:11:33.
Kenseth just missed his goal of sub-three hours, finishing in 3:01:40.
“It was my best marathon by far, I finished strong, felt pretty good all, and it was a great experience,” Kenseth told Runner’s World.
Sarah Fuller
Courtesy of Sarah FullerSarah Fuller became the first woman to play in an SEC football game, kicking off for the Vanderbilt Commodores in November 2020, just days after securing the SEC championship for the women’s soccer team. The goalkeeper made her marathon debut in Boston in 5:50:59.
“It’s been a really amazing journey training for this and I’m really excited to go to Boston, I’ve never been before,” she told Runner’s World.
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Adrianne Haslet
Adrianne Haslet lost her left leg from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings while spectating. She was inspired to start running, and finished the race herself in 2016. After a driver in a car hit her in 2019, she came back to the marathon in the para-athlete division. Shalane Flanagan accompanied her for support, and the pair crossed the line in 5:18:41.
Shalane Flanagan
Johnny Zhang (@jzsnapz)Shalane Flanagan made history last year by running all six World Marathon Majors (which included a virtual Tokyo Marathon) in just seven weeks. The 2017 New York City Marathon champion ran Boston to support para-athlete Adrianne Haslet. They finished in 5:18:41.
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Kristine Lilly
Donald Miralle//Getty ImagesLilly was a member of the U.S. women’s national soccer team for 23 years, earning two Olympic golds and two World Cup championships. She owns the women’s record for most games played on the international stage with 354. She raced her second Boston Marathon on Patriots Day this year, finishing in 3:54:42.
“I ran in 2012, feel a lot better this year than that year, it was a really hot year,” she told Runner’s World. “It was fun, the crowd’s amazing, and everywhere you turn people are cheering you on. It feels wonderful.”
Related: 57 Celebrities You Didn’t Know Were Marathoners
Mariko Yugeta
Japan’s Mariko Yugeta, 63, had an eventful weekend. The first woman older than 60 to break the 3-hour barrier in the marathon met her idol, 1984 Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson, on Sunday. Today, she ran her first Boston, finishing in 3:06:27.
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Jacky Hunt-Broersma
Boston Globe//Getty ImagesJacky Hunt-Broersma didn’t start the race with fresh legs—Boston was her 92nd 26.2-mile effort in 92 days. She’s aiming for the world record for marathons on consecutive days, which now stands at 102, in an attempt to raise awareness that runners with prosthetics can travel long distances—and funds for Amputee Blade Runners.
Today’s course was hillier than the loops she’s been running around her Gilbert, Arizona, home, but crowds gave her encouragement: “Because we have our names on the front of our bibs, everyone was calling my name,” she said immediately after her 5:05:13 finish. “I felt like this rock star.”
Henry Richard
Derek CallHenry Richard, 20, lost his 8-year-old brother Martin in the 2013 finish line bombings. Today, he finished the race himself in 4:02:45, on behalf of the Martin Richard Foundation, which his family started after the tragedy to advance the values of inclusion, kindness, justice and peace.
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Zac Clark
Craig Sjodin//Getty ImagesThe 36-year-old addiction specialist won the 16th season of The Bachelorette, proposing to bachelorette Tayshia Adams in the finale. The pair ran the 2021 New York City Marathon together, but have since split up. He raced Boston—his ninth marathon—solo, finishing in 3:43:46.
Sam Roecker
Courtesy of Sam RoeckerSam Roecker ran in scrubs to raise awareness and money for the American Nurses Foundation, and their efforts to support the mental health and wellness of nurses. Roecker, who’s a registered nurse herself in addition to a marathoner with a personal best of 2:29:59, finished today’s race in 2:48:02—successfully smashing the previous Guinness World Record for fastest time in a nurse’s uniform (female), 3:08:22.
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Jocelyn Rivas
Robert Gauthier//Getty ImagesAs a child in El Salvador, Rivas was told she would likely not be able to walk due to unknown health problems. Now, the 24-year-old is a U.S. citizen and the youngest woman to run 100 marathons after completing the 2021 Los Angeles Marathon. Her Boston time was 4:40:47.
Matt James
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Chris Nikic
Michael Reaves//Getty ImagesChris Nikic became the first person with Down Syndrome to finish an Ironman triathlon on November 7, 2020, and earned two ESPYs in the summer of 2021 for his achievements. He bettered his Boston Marathon time of 6:01:22 from last year, running 5:28:55.
Ethan Zohn
Henry S. Dziekan III//Getty ImagesEthan Zohn is no stranger to feats of endurance. The 48-year-old former soccer player outlasted 31 other players to win Survivor: Africa and has run the Boston Marathon in 2013, before he was pulled off the course at mile 24 because of the bombing. A cancer survivor himself, Zohn is running for AKTIV Against Cancer, an organization that works to add physical activity to cancer treatment. He ran 5:02:44 in Boston this year.
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Val Rogosheske
Chris HatlerVal Rogosheske ran her first Boston Marathon in 1972—the first year women were invited to compete. At 75 years old, she came back to race the course to celebrate the 50th anniversary of women’s inclusion. She’s the only one of the original female finishers to race this year, running 6:38:57.
“It was challenging, because I’ve never been out that long before,” she said after the race. “But it was great fun.”
In symbolic fashion, Rogosheske wore bib 1972. She ran with her two daughters, Albigail and Valerie.
Tommy Rivers Puzey
Ethan Miller//Getty ImagesUltrarunner Tommy Rivers Puzey will race Boston for the first time since 2019. He was diagnosed with a rare lung cancer in 2020, which nearly killed him. Despite this, he managed to finish the 2021 New York City Marathon in 9:18:57. He ran much faster in Boston, clocking a 6:31:54.
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Bob Socci
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Chris Hatler is the Deputy Editor of Esquire. He previously served as the Senior Editor of Men’s Journal and Features Editor of Popular Mechanics.

Cindy is a freelance health and fitness writer, author, and podcaster who’s contributed regularly to Runner’s World since 2013. She’s the coauthor of both Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart and Rebound: Train Your Mind to Bounce Back Stronger from Sports Injuries, a book about the psychology of sports injury from Bloomsbury Sport. Cindy specializes in covering injury prevention and recovery, everyday athletes accomplishing extraordinary things, and the active community in her beloved Chicago, where winter forges deep bonds between those brave enough to train through it.
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