Methuen runners’ story
WCVB profiled four friends from Methuen tackling cancer together as they prepare for the Boston Marathon, and two members — Nadine and Lisa — are set to join the small group who have run 25 consecutive Boston Marathons. (wcvb.com) The piece focused on their shared history and preparation in the final week before the event. (wcvb.com)
Four runners from Methuen are heading to the 2026 Boston Marathon after facing cancer together, with two chasing a rare 25th straight Boston finish. (wcvb.com) WCVB reported that the group includes Nadine Palmer and Lisa Zappala, who are set to run their 25th consecutive Boston Marathon, plus two friends from the same running circle who also dealt with cancer this year. The station aired the profile in the final week before race day. (wcvb.com) The race they are training for is the 130th Boston Marathon, scheduled for Monday, April 20, 2026, on Patriots’ Day. The Boston Athletic Association said the event runs from Hopkinton to Boston and remains the world’s oldest annual marathon. (baa.org; baa.org) Boston is not a local fun run that takes walk-up entries. The Boston Athletic Association said most runners must qualify in advance, and the qualifying window for the 2026 race ran from September 1, 2024, through September 12, 2025. (baa.org) That makes a 25-year streak unusually hard to sustain, because runners have to stay healthy enough to train, fast enough to qualify, and available every April. The Boston Athletic Association is also using six start waves in 2026, underscoring how large and tightly managed the field is. (baa.org) The Boston Marathon has been run since 1897, and the Boston Athletic Association calls it the world’s oldest annual marathon. It is also part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors circuit, which places neighborhood runners on the same course as Olympic medalists and professional champions. (baa.org; baa.org) WCVB framed the Methuen group’s story around shared preparation and shared illness, not just finish times. The station said the four friends have been leaning on one another through treatment and training as race week approaches. (wcvb.com) If Palmer and Zappala reach Boylston Street on April 20, they will add another year to a streak that now spans a quarter-century of Boston Marathon Mondays. For this group, the finish line in Boston comes after a year when simply staying in the race carried its own weight. (wcvb.com; baa.org)
