The Boston Marathon, now in its 129th year, caters to a wide demographic of runners, some natural-born Bostonians and some not. Runners travel from around the globe, raising money for charities and worldly foundations, while others are in it for the fame and glory. This year, the city’s clear skies and engaging crowd made for a perfect celebration, both to the sport and the city.

The South Boston Neighborhood House’s Team Ollie ran and raised over $100,000 to support their variety of community programming and represent themselves to friends and potential partners.

The team’s top fundraiser, Brian Cloherty, was excited to run with his South Boston neighbors and support an organization he had been involved with since preschool. 

He shared that Team Ollie would train on Saturday mornings with group runs down the marathon route. “It made it so much easier having people out there with you to talk to rather than trying to do some of the long runs alone,” said Cloherty.

“It’s a pretty emotional experience because it’s such a big day in the city growing up here,” he said. “It’s all mental. You dedicate four months of your life to something, and it’ll absolutely be worth it.” 

After the race, Cloherty stayed in the area for a time to soak it all in before returning to Southie to celebrate. “We actually went over to the Seapoint,” he said. “That’s where many of the actual local Southie people who ran all met thereafter, which was an awesome experience.”

Colin’s Joy Project had 16 runners running for Team Colin and raised over $163,000 for the cause!  Two of those team members are Southie natives Mary McKenna and Shannon Woods!  They too were spotted at the Seapoint after the Marathon.

MIT grad students Reid Kovacs and Rishabh Kothari ran with the Tortoise Track Club on the other side of the Charles River. After the race, the pair said they were happy they participated, but also glad it was over.

Their group spans a wide range of aptitudes from mid-distance to mountain ultras. They trained on the marathon route and traveled to Newton to run in the hills. “We just meet up and try to train together and try to push each other to our goals. Some of us tried to run this together and pace each other,” said Kothari.

“We’re basically brand new. We just became a USATF club. So, we just got our singlets. And it was really awesome to have people out on the course saying, ‘Go tortoise.’”

Crossing another, far larger body of water, Tom Davis came from Swansea, Wales, for his first foreign marathon. He has raced across the United Kingdom, which he claims is “a bit more mountainous” than a sprint through Boston. 

While in town, he and his wife attended a Red Sox game to experience Boston’s “local traditions.” He called the city a crazy place but one that he loved, and the medal and runners’ getup made him feel like a celebrity.

Boston’s craziness gets dialed up to eleven during any city-wide event, and the signs brought by friends and fans on the runners certainly contributed. Some were political, reading “Run like the tariffs are chasing you” and “You’re running way better than the government!” 

Others were funny or suggestive, with slogans like “This is the longest you’ve ever lasted,” and “Hot men with mustaches, I’m rooting for you.” 

One was even attached to a baguette.

Alyssa Vallese came to support her friend Marissa Nelson. “She loves bread,” explained Vallese. She planned to gift the loaf to Nelson once she crossed the finish line.

Other attendees crowded the sidewalks up and down the parade route. Outside of Capital Grille, fans even stood in the planters to get a view of the race. Some tried harder not to trample the flowers than others, but all were loud and proud of their favorite runners.

The marathon raised $46,026,596 for 289 charities, many of which are still accepting donations. A complete list can be found here.