This nurse ran the Boston Marathon in memory of her 3-year-old patient

Sammie Taylor, a registered nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital, completed the 129th Boston Marathon with a time of four hours and 46 minutes.

April 21, 2025

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Sammie Taylor, a registered nurse at Boston Children’s Hospital who was previously featured on Boston.com’s “Why I’m Running” series, completed the 129th Boston Marathon with a time of four hours and 46 minutes.

She ran on Boston Children’s Hospital’s Miles for Miracles team in honor of her patient, three-year-old Demi Costa, who died from APLAID complications earlier this year.

“I just kept thinking about pushing through, thinking about Demi and her strong spirit, and the little spunk that she had. [S]he definitely pushed me through that finish line,” Taylor said in an interview with Boston.com.

When asked if there was anything she wanted to say to readers, she said the following:

Thank you to Demi’s family and her village for letting me share her story. They are just absolutely incredible people, and they had such a light of a daughter that continues to make a difference every day — especially in my life. I tribute this race to her, because I PR’d by 12 minutes, and that was just icing on the cake. But the fact that that run was in honor of her means the absolute world. We doubled our fundraising goal. I just cannot thank them enough for allowing me to share their story and share how beautiful their daughter was.

Explore her personal-record-breaking journey below.