Boston: Comebacks and Causes
This year’s Boston field includes powerful personal stories — Samantha Bundy relearned to walk after leg surgeries for exercise‑induced compartment syndrome and will run to support the MetroWest YMCA. Nurses Abigail Zerbey and Gabby Peduto are running for Massachusetts General Hospital and Special Olympics Massachusetts respectively, and Laredo realtor Karla Villarreal, a mother of three, will make her Boston debut — small, human stories that remind you the race is as much community as elite sport. (boston25news.com) (boston.com) (boston.com) (kgns.tv)
Samantha Bundy isn’t just a first‑time Boston participant — she was added to the MetroWest YMCA’s 10‑person charity squad after running marathons in Chicago and Vermont and recovering from surgeries on both legs that forced her to relearn how to walk. (boston25news.com) (metrowestymca.org) Abigail Zerbey is a 24‑year‑old registered nurse from North Andover who works on Bigelow 7 at Massachusetts General Hospital and says she is running the marathon in memory of her grandfather, who received care at MGH. (boston.com) Gabby Peduto is running to raise funds for Special Olympics Massachusetts and has cited the organization’s focus on inclusion and empowerment as her motivation for joining this year’s field. (boston.com) (specialolympicsma.org) The technical diagnosis behind Bundy’s surgeries is commonly called exercise‑induced (or exertional) compartment syndrome — a condition in which repetitive activity makes muscles swell inside tight connective‑tissue “compartments,” raising pressure that reduces blood flow and causes severe pain; persistent cases are typically confirmed with pressure measurements inside the muscle and treated by surgically releasing the surrounding tissue (a fasciotomy). (massgeneral.org) (therundoctor.com) Karla Villarreal, a Laredo realtor and mother of three, will be making her Boston debut on Patriots’ Day — the 130th Boston Marathon is set for Monday, April 20, 2026 — traveling from Texas to run the 26.2‑mile course from Hopkinton to Boston. (kgns.tv) (baa.org) All three examples reflect how this year’s entry list mixes charity and institutional teams that offer guaranteed spots and fundraising platforms — MetroWest YMCA’s roster and Mass General’s official marathon team provide organized fundraising and team support, and Special Olympics Massachusetts runs its own Boston Marathon program for supporters — while the B.A.A. has already released bib assignments and wave start times ahead of the April 20 race. (metrowestymca.org) (giving.massgeneral.org) (specialolympicsma.org) (runningusa.org)
