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These celebrities are running the 2024 Boston Marathon
Participants in Monday's big race include a Michelin-starred chef and a Bruins legend.
It will be hard to spot a face in the crowd of 30,000 participants at the 2024 Boston Marathon on Monday. But if you search hard enough, you may spy a couple of famous faces along the 26.2-mile race course.
Each year, a handful of celebrities head to Boston to try their luck at the Boston Marathon. Recent participants include former Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, “The Bachelor” star Matt James, and “Supernatural” actor Jared Padalecki, who tackled the race in 2019 along with his wife, Genevieve.
At the 2024 Boston Marathon, the famous participants will include a celebrity chef, a Bruins Stanley Cup winner, and many athletes who played an important part in Boston Marathon history.
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Off the race course, another notable figure participating in the Boston Marathon in a different capacity is Rob Gronkowski. The former Patriots tight end will serve as this year’s grand marshal. He will also be awarded the Patriots’ Award, an annual honor bestowed by the Boston Athletic Association (BAA) to a “patriotic, philanthropic, and inspirational” individual who “fosters goodwill and sportsmanship.”
Here are all of the notable people running the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Zdeno Chara
The legendary Bruins defender, who spent 14 seasons with the team and won a Stanley Cup in 2011, will be running to support the Thomas E. Smith Foundation and the Hoyt Foundation. Father and son duo Dick and Rick Hoyt were Boston Marathon fixtures for years, with Dick (who passed away in 2021) pushing Rick in a wheelchair. The Smith Foundation supports those living with paralysis, while the Hoyt Foundation aims to “build the individual character, self-confidence and self-esteem of America’s disabled young people.”
“I’m excited to be running the 2024 Boston Marathon to raise money and awareness for @thomasesmithfoundation & @teamhoytofficial!,” Chara wrote on Instagram. “These two amazing foundations impact the lives of those living with disabilities through financial and emotional support.”
Nicolas Kiefer
The 2024 Boston Marathon will be the final one that former pro tennis player Nicolas Kiefer needs to complete the traditional Big Six marathons (Boston, Berlin, Chicago, London, New York, Tokyo).
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Kiefer, who was previously ranked No. 4 in the world tennis rankings and won a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, wrote on Instagram that he was feeling “extremely good” during his final long training run before the Boston Marathon.
Daniel Humm
Daniel Humm, a highly decorated celebrity chef who runs the triple Michelin Star-winning Eleven Madison Park in New York City, will be looking to improve on his time from the 2023 Boston Marathon, when he ran a 2:58:53.
An avid runner and cyclist, Humm has completed multiple marathons over the years.
Matt Wilpers
Matt Wilpers, a fitness coach widely known for his work as a Peloton instructor, is bringing his can-do energy to the 2024 Boston Marathon.
In an interview with Boston.com, Wilpers said that running the race was both a long-time personal goal and a great opportunity to fulfill his goal as a Peloton instructor to inspire people through his own actions.
“My success is when my athletes are successful, so if I can push them to be stronger, better versions of themselves by going out and leading by example, like, I love this stuff,” Wilpers said. “I’ll have fun racing a marathon, I’ll have fun racing a 5K. Whatever it is, this is what I do for fun. And so if this is going to get people excited, let’s go do it.”
Amby Burfoot
Ambrose “Amby” Burfoot was an elite marathoner in the 1960s and ’70s, winning the race in 1968. Burfoot was destined for Boston Marathon greatness, training in high school under 1957 Boston Marathon winner John J. Kelley and rooming in college with four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers.
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Burfoot, 77, will be wearing the bib number 1968 in honor of his milestone victory 56 years ago.
Meb Keflezighi
There aren’t many elite Americans running the 2024 Boston Marathon, but one of the most famous in recent Boston Marathon history will make his return to the race this year.
Meb Keflezighi, who in 2014 became the first American to win the Boston Marathon Men’s Open Division since 1983, will run the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Keflezighi, 48, will run the race in support of his MEB Foundation, which supports “health, education, and fitness worldwide.”
“I will be returning to the streets of Boston, taking on the prestigious race and celebrating my victory from 2014,” Keflezighi wrote on Instagram. “Together, we can light the path for those in need and show the world the power of compassion and community. Let’s run with purpose and inspire others to join us in spreading kindness and hope.”
Dave McGillivray
For years, Boston Marathon race course director Dave McGillivray was consistently the last runner to finish the race. That’s not because he’s slow — his personal best time is 2:29:58 — but because he was too busy overseeing every aspect of the race to compete until well after most runners already crossed the finish line.
This time around, McGillivray will run his 52nd Boston Marathon during the day. After seeing off the first two waves of open division runners, McGillivray will perform his typical race course director duties from the middle of the scrum instead up front on a motor scooter as he has done for the past few decades.
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“The field of runners I will experience in the race in a couple of weeks will be five times larger than it was the last time I ran the Boston Marathon during the day,” McGillivray said in an email. “The energy and the crowds will be eclectic and seeing the race on two feet rather than two wheels will give me a special perspective.”
Chris Nikic
Chris Nikic was only 22 years old when he finished his first Boston Marathon in 2021, but he had already completed a number of athletic milestones. Nikic is the first person with Down Syndrome to complete the Hawaii Ironman, and has already completed the Big Six marathons. Now, Nikic is trying to lower his Boston time in 2024, aiming for a 5:35 during his third time running the race.
“Last long run (20 miles) before @bostonmarathon next weekend and @londonmarathon in 2 weeks,” Nikic wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Looking to see if I can do better each marathon.”
Along with these famous runners, the following former Boston Marathon champions will be participating in the 2024 Boston Marathon.
Open Division:
- Hellen Obiri (Kenya; also an Olympic medalist)
- Evans Chebet (Kenya)
- Edna Kiplagat (Kenya)
- Des Linden (USA)
- Caroline Rotich (USA)
Wheelchair Division:
- Manuela Schär (Switzerland)
- Marcel Hug (Switzerland
- Daniel Romanchuk (USA)
- Joshua Cassidy (Canada)
- Masazumi Soejima (Japan)
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