25th Boston streak
Nadine and Lisa are among the small group scheduled to run their 25th consecutive Boston Marathon, a milestone covered as part of race‑week human‑interest reporting. (wcvb.com) Their long streaks are being highlighted alongside other local entrants as the city shifts into marathon mode. (lowellsun.com)
Nadine Palmer and Lisa Zappala are set to run their 25th straight Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20. (wcvb.com) WCVB reported that Palmer and Zappala are part of a four-runner group from Methuen preparing for this year’s race. The station said their 25-race streak comes after a year in which the group also battled cancer. (wcvb.com) The 2026 race will be the 130th Boston Marathon, and the Boston Athletic Association says it will start on Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 20, with 30,000 participants from more than 130 countries and all 50 states. (baa.org; boston.com) A 25-year streak carries special standing in Boston. Runners who finish the race at least 25 consecutive times are eligible to be considered for the Quarter Century Club, a group tied to one of the marathon’s longest-running traditions. (boston.com) That puts Palmer and Zappala in a narrow slice of the field at the same moment Boston is shifting into race week. The Lowell Sun reported on April 11 that local entrants were already moving into final preparations for “a week from Monday.” (lowellsun.com) The Boston Marathon is not a lottery race for most entrants. The Boston Athletic Association said 24,362 qualified applicants were accepted for 2026, and runners needed to beat their age-group qualifying standard by 4 minutes, 34 seconds to get in. (baa.org) That makes a 25-year run harder than just staying interested. A streak has to survive injuries, travel problems, and the normal cutoffs that keep qualified runners out in some years, according to Boston.com’s explainer on the Quarter Century Club. (boston.com) Boston has built a week of events around the race as those veterans return. The Boston Athletic Association said race-week programming for 2026 includes the Boston 5K on April 18, the invitational mile on April 19, and the marathon on April 20. (baa.org) If Palmer and Zappala reach Boylston Street again on April 20, they will hit the quarter-century mark in the country’s oldest annual marathon. (baa.org; wcvb.com)
