From world-famous elite runners to those supporting a worthy cause, tens of thousands of athletes from across the globe will be participating in the Boston Marathon this year, winding their way through the 26.2-mile course that runs from Hopkinton to Boylston Street.
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Among those likely to stand out in the packed field — and possibly catch the eyes of attendees — are a handful of notable names. The high-profile participants include previous champions, beloved sports stars, and recognizable faces from television. Meanwhile, former Patriots tight end and fan-favorite Rob Gronkowski will serve as this year’s grand marshal.
Here are some of the well-known people who are participating in the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Zdeno Chara: Bruins legend
Perhaps one of the most esteemed figures in Boston sports history, Zdeno Chara, former captain and defenseman for the Bruins, ran the Boston Marathon for the first time last year.
The race — which he ran for the Thomas E. Smith Foundation and The Hoyt Foundation — marked the 6-foot-9-inch Slovakian’s first marathon.
Since then, the future NHL Hall of Famer has completed a handful of marathons — and he’s set to add another to his belt when he crosses the finish line in Boston on Monday. Chara, 47, will again be running for The Hoyt Foundation, which he said “aspires to enhance the lives of young people with disabilities.”
Nicolas Kiefer: Tennis Olympic medalist
Kiefer is a German tennis star who reached a career-high rank of No. 4 on the professional tour during his career and won a silver medal in the doubles event at the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
At the 128th Boston Marathon, Kiefer is setting out to join the ranks of Six Star Finishers, runners who complete all six major marathons in the World Marathon Majors. So far, Kiefer has run Berlin, London, New York, Tokyo, and Chicago. Next up: Boston.
Henry Richard: Brother of Martin Richard
After the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings 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 made his running debut in 2022, participating on behalf of Team MR8, a group representing the Martin Richard Foundation. In an emotional moment for the family, Henry ran the race again with three childhood friends of his brother last year — a decade after the bombings — in Martin’s memory.
Henry is taking on the Boston Marathon for a third time to raise money for the Martin Richard Foundation. Henry wrote on a fundraiser website that many of those on the team this year “are Martins’s childhood friends, and I am so excited to run with them and spread the Martin Richard Foundation’s message.” He called his experience running the race the past two years “extraordinary.”
Daniel Humm: Award-winning chef
Well-known in culinary circles, Humm is a celebrity chef and owner of “Make It Nice,” a New York-based hospitality group behind the famed Eleven Madison Park. The Switzerland native has earned a range of accolades throughout his career, including three Michelin Stars. Humm, also a former pro cyclist, has completed numerous marathons and ran Boston for the first time last spring in under three hours.
Matt Wilpers: Peloton instructor
Wilpers, one of the most popular instructors on the Peloton platform, announced that he was running the Boston Marathon during a class in February. A former distance runner at Georgia State, Wilpers has participated in marathons before — but never in Boston (an injury sidelined him in 2007, and then the pandemic led to the cancellation of the next one he qualified for). But the Boston Marathon has been a “bucket-list race” for Wilpers, he said in an Instagram post.
“This is a race that has been on my list for a long time. Right when I started racing marathons, my eye was on Boston immediately. And I was like, one day, one day, you gotta hit that race,” he recently told Boston.com.
Shane Sager: Sting’s harmonica player
Sager, a Boston-based musician, plays the harmonica with Sting. He is running the Marathon in support of the Mass General Marathon Team raising money for pediatric cancer research. Leading up to the race, he has chronicled his training runs, including along the Charles River Esplanade.
Meb Keflezighi: 2014 winner
A decade after winning the Boston Marathon in 2014, Keflezighi is once again taking on the prestigious road race. In an emotionally charged race a year after the bombings, Keflezighi became the first American man to win since 1983.
Keflezighi, who has also won the New York City Marathon and is an Olympic silver medalist, announced in February he was running to celebrate his victory and “to illuminate the way for the MEB Foundation,” which aims to promote “youth health, education, and fitness” nationally and abroad, according to its website.
Des Linden: 2018 winner
Linden is no stranger to the Boston Marathon.
Last year marked her 10th time running the world-renowned race. In 2018, during one of the coldest and most rain-soaked race days in recent memory, Linden became the first American woman to win Boston in more than 30 years. The two-time Olympian will return to take on Boston again this year, saying in an Instagram post that “you just can’t beat a rip down Boylston.”
Evans Chebet: 2022 and 2023 winner
In a stunning feat, Chebet won the Boston Marathon for the second time last spring after coming in first the year before. The runner from Kenya also won the New York City Marathon in 2022 — the same year he won his first Boston Marathon — making him only the eighth man to win both in the same year, according to New York Road Runners.
Now the two-time defending Boston Marathon champion, who will be headlining the men’s pro field this year, is looking to add another historic accomplishment to his list: becoming just the fifth man to win Boston three successive times. He recently said that “Boston has become like a second home” to him.
“Even after having run 28 marathons during my career, the chance to race the 29th in Boston and the fans there give me the motivation necessary to prepare to defend my title,” Chebet said. “I look forward to hitting the streets there this spring and hearing the enthusiastic crowds along the course.”
Charlie Davis: ‘Survivor’ 46 contestant
A Manchester-by-the-Sea native and Boston College Law School student, Davis has graced television screens nationwide for several weeks as a contestant on season 46 of “Survivor,” the long-running reality competition show on CBS. Davis, who was captain of the cross-country team at Harvard, will be running the Boston Marathon for the first time.
He told the Globe in February that participating in the celebrated race is fulfilling a “lifelong dream.” Davis is running for Casa Myrna, a nonprofit dedicated to ending domestic and dating violence.
Lots of people have been asking me if I have #survivor46 merch—I dont!!
I’m running the Boston Marathon and fundraising for Casa Myrna, a non-profit that supports domestic violence survivors. Casa Myrna does such important work. Any donation helps: https://t.co/4PeVKlo5tu
— Charlie Davis (S46) (@charlieLdavis) February 7, 2024
Amby Burfoot: 1968 winner
During his senior year at Wesleyan in 1968, Burfoot won the Boston Marathon. In a post on Medium last year, Burfoot said that he “wanted to win Boston more than you can imagine” and that he “trained insanely hard” that year in his effort to do so, logging “well over 100 miles” during a typical week of training.
More than a half-century later, Burfoot, who writes and edits for various running publications, has competed in the fabled road race more than a dozen times. He will be taking it on again this year.
“These days, 55 years later, I’m still running Boston. Mainly to give thanks. So many thanks. It doesn’t matter how slowly I cover the course, or where I finish. The miracle is that I can still run 26.2 miles on foot from rural Hopkinton to downtown Boston’s Copley Square,” he wrote last April.
Troy Hoyt: Grandson of Dick Hoyt
For several decades, Dick and Rick Hoyt were a staple of the Boston Marathon. Between 1980 and 2014, Team Hoyt — the father-son duo — completed 32 of the prestigious races together, with Dick pushing Rick in his wheelchair through the 26.2-mile course and across the finish line. Together, the two became running legends. Rick, a quadriplegic who had cerebral palsy, died last May, two years after his father.
In the wake of their absence, the Hoyt family has remained dedicated to upholding their legacy. Last year, three of Dick’s grandsons — Troy, Cameron, and Ryan — ran for Team Hoyt. The Hoyt Foundation 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.
Along with Chara, Troy is again running with Team Hoyt this year. He called this race “extra special to our family as it is the 10-year anniversary of the last time my grandfather and uncle ran Boston together.”
Tevin Wooten: NBC10 Boston meteorologist
Wooten, a meteorologist for NBC10 Boston and NECN, is running Boston — his first marathon — to raise money for Boston Medical Center. Wooten has been documenting his training since the fall, providing updates on his progress and highlighting fellow charity runners on Team BMC.
“As a non-athlete, training to run the Boston Marathon has been a whirlwind. I’ve been in numerous hurricanes and winter storms, but this is a thrill! While it has been a deeply personal journey, I will have so many of you in mind as we cross the finish line on Marathon Monday,” he said in an Instagram post in March.
Emily Maher: WCVB reporter
A general assignment reporter for WCVB, Maher is running the Boston Marathon for the first time in support of The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, “an organization that provides a safe and supportive environment for young people to learn and grow,” she said on a fund-raiser website. Maher said she is “beyond excited.”
Dave Fortier: Boston Marathon bombing survivor
While running the Boston Marathon in 2013 in support of a friend dealing with cancer, Fortier was injured by the first bomb. He suffered shrapnel wounds and hearing loss. After the attack, Fortier and other survivors were deeply moved by the support offered to them by the Semper Fi Fund, a group of veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan. That support and his “passion for helping other survivors of terror and trauma,” led Fortier to found the One World Strong Foundation, where he now serves as president, according to his bio.
The 2013 race marked his first marathon, and the Newburyport resident has since run more than a dozen, including Boston, which he will again take on this year.
Read more about the Boston Marathon
- Where it all starts: Hopkinton relishes role as host of Boston Marathon
- Your guide to the 2024 Boston Marathon: What to know, how to watch, and more
- Rob Gronkowski to serve as grand marshal of 2024 Boston Marathon
- Why are so few top Americans running this year’s Boston Marathon?
Shannon Larson can be reached at shannon.larson@globe.com. Follow her @shannonlarson98.
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