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How celebrities, notable figures finished at the 2026 Boston Marathon
Celebrities running the 2026 Boston Marathon included former members of the Bruins and Celtics, a former NASA astronaut, and former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton.
It will be hard to spot a face in the crowd of 32,000 participants at the 2026 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, with recent participants including former Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, former star of “The Bachelor” Matt James, former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, and “Supernatural” actor Jared Padalecki, who tackled the race in 2019 along with his wife, Genevieve.
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Chara was back for more at the 2026 Boston Marathon, while James, who was slated to run heading into the weekend, was a late scratch. Other bold-faced names taking on Heartbreak Hill this year included local newscasters, a trailblazing astronaut, a World Cup winner, a former Boston Celtics guard, and former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton.
Here are the finishing times (courtesy the B.A.A. racing app) for all of the celebrities and notable figures running the 2026 Boston Marathon.
2026 Boston Marathon celebrities
Chelsea Clinton (3:40:52)
– Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, finished her first Boston Marathon in a time of 3:40:52, with her proud parents watching from near the finish line.
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Afterward, Clinton posed for photos with friends and Marathon figures like 2014 winner Meb Keflezighi.
Clinton has run several other marathons in the past, including the New York City Marathon, which she ran in 3:44:22.
Zdeno Chara (3:18:00)
After pulling out of the 2025 Boston Marathon due to injury, Boston Bruins legend Zdeno Chara ran his third Boston Marathon in four years with an unofficial time of 3:18:00.
Chara, who fired the starter’s pistol for the 2026 Boston Marathon before taking to the course himself, finished his ninth marathon in the past 15 months.
Before the race, the legendary Bruins defenseman raised money for 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.”
Suni Williams (5:52:49)
Along with running the 2026 Boston Marathon in a time of 5:52:49, recently retired NASA astronaut (and Needham native) Sunita “Suni” Williams received the BAA’s annual Patriots’ Award, given to a person who is “patriotic, philanthropic, and inspirational, and fosters goodwill and sportsmanship.”
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The 2026 Boston Marathon was Williams’ second, but her first on Earth. In 2007, Williams ran the Boston Marathon on a treadmill aboard the International Space Station.
Bryan Arenales (4:06:49)
Boston native Bryan Arenales, who was crowned the co-winner of “Love Island USA” Season 7 last summer, ran his first-ever Boston Marathon, finishing with an unofficial time of 4:06:49.
Arenales, who has been cataloguing his running journey on Instagram, ran his first marathon in Miami in early 2025, then ran the Chicago Marathon last fall in 4:18:40.
Kristine Lilly (5:16:32)
Two-time World Cup winner and former Boston Breakers player Kristine Lilly finished the 2026 Boston Marathon with an unofficial time of 5:16:32.
Lilly has maintained her ties to soccer in retirement, serving as an advisor with the newly formed Boston Legacy FC and running this year’s Marathon on behalf of the Mia Hamm Foundation, a non-profit founded by her former USWNT teammate to help families in need of marrow or cord blood transplants.
Jeff DaRosa (3:40:32)
For years, the only structure in Dropkick Murphys multi-instrumentalist Jeff DaRosa’s life was the rhythm of tour life. But a few years back, he quit drinking, and in search of something new to fill the void, discovered running.
DaRosa’s years of training led the musician to finishing the 2026 Boston Marathon with a time of 3:40:32. But DaRosa told Boston.com before the race that he only had one goal: “To just be present. That’s it.”
Chris Herren (5:12:13)
Fall River native Chris Herren was a hoops phenom in the ’90s, becoming a McDonald’s All-American and earning a scholarship to Boston College. But substance abuse issues pushed Herren out of BC and later the NBA after a short stint with the Celtics.
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Sober and drug-free since 2008, Herren ran the 2026 Boston Marathon with a time of 5:12:13 while raising funds for his Herren Project, which provides free resources for “treatment, recovery and prevention of substance use disorder.”
Drew Carter (3:28:25)
Carter, the Celtics’ play-by-play voice on NBC Sports Boston, finished his second consecutive Boston Marathon with a time of 3:28:25, easily besting his 2025 time of 3:48:02.
“This just feels like the perfect way for me to use my platform as the Celtics announcer and my background as a runner to do some good and have a lot of fun and get to be a part of that fabric and one of the truly special things about Boston,” Carter told Boston.com in 2025.
Des Linden (2:35:49)
In 2018, Linden braved cold, wet conditions to become the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985 with a time of 2:39:54. This year, Linden exited the elite division and joined the rest of the crowd, but still finished four minutes faster than her 2018 run with an unofficial time of 2:35:49.
Laura Green (3:50:17)
Laura Green doesn’t take running — or herself — too seriously. That’s what Green’s 232,000 Instagram followers appreciate about the Cambridge mom, who ran the 2026 Boston Marathon in an unofficial time of 3:50:17 three years after initially qualifying thanks to BAA’s pregnancy and postpartum deferral policy.
Dave McGillivray (4:46:02)
For years, Boston Marathon race course director Dave McGillivray, 71, 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.
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In 2024, McGillivray ran his first race from the middle of the scrum. For this year’s race, his 54th Boston Marathon, the plan was the same: See off the first two waves of open division runners, then hit the course with three of his children, Max, Luke, and Elle.
In the end, McGillivray finished with an unofficial time of 4:46:02.
Amby Burfoot (5:11:29)
Ambrose “Amby” Burfoot, 79, wearing the bib number 1968 in honor of his milestone victory at the 1968 Boston Marathon, finished the race with a time of 5:11:29.
Burfoot was an elite marathoner in the 1960s and ’70s, training in high school under 1957 Boston Marathon winner John J. Kelley and rooming in college with four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers.
A.J. Burnett (5:57:32)
In recent years, Boston Marathon presenting media sponsor WCVB has had a handful of its anchors and reporters run the race. This year, it was WCVB meteorologist A.J. Burnett, who finished the race with an unofficial time of 5:57:32.
Burnett, who raised funds for Special Olympics Massachusetts, was emotional leading up to the race.
“I’m running the Boston Marathon to prove to myself that I can do really hard things,” Burnett said. “My running journey only began just over three years ago, and back then I couldn’t run a mile without stopping and gasping for air.”
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