25 Boston Marathons streak
Nadine and Lisa are set to join a small group of runners who have completed 25 consecutive Boston Marathons as the 130th race approaches next week. (wcvb.com)(lowellsun.com) Their story was highlighted in local pre‑race coverage alongside other area entrants preparing after a tough winter. (lowellsun.com)
Two Methuen runners are one finish line away from a milestone few Boston Marathoners ever reach: 25 straight Bostons. (wcvb.com) WCVB identified them as Nadine Palmer and Lisa Zappala and reported that both are set to run their 25th consecutive Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20, 2026. The race will be the 130th edition of the event. (wcvb.com) (baa.org) The Lowell Sun included Palmer and Zappala in its April 11 roundup of local entrants preparing for the race after a winter of difficult training conditions in Massachusetts. That local preview said runners had trained through a season that “threw everything but the kitchen sink at them.” (lowellsun.com) In Boston Marathon terms, 25 consecutive finishes is the threshold for the Quarter Century Club, a group for runners who have finished the race 25 years in a row. Boston.com reported in 2025 that the club began around 2001 with 16 original members. (boston.com) That streak is harder to build than a single qualification because Boston requires time standards for most entrants, and even accepted qualifiers can miss a year because of injury, illness, travel problems, or family obligations. For the 2026 race, the Boston Athletic Association accepted 24,362 qualified applicants who were at least 4 minutes, 34 seconds faster than their age-group standard. (baa.org) (runningusa.org) The Boston Athletic Association says the marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon, first run on April 19, 1897, and now draws more than 30,000 entrants from nearly 130 countries and all 50 states. A 25-year streak means returning through shifting qualifying rules, course-day weather, and the cancellation-era disruption that reshaped road racing in 2020 and 2021. (baa.org) Palmer and Zappala’s names surfaced in broader local coverage for another reason: WCVB said they are part of a four-runner Methuen group that has dealt with cancer while preparing for Boston. The station framed this year’s race as part of a shared recovery story for the club. (wcvb.com) The 130th Boston Marathon is scheduled for Patriots’ Day, Monday, April 20, with the Boston Athletic Association expecting about 30,000 participants and more than 10,000 volunteers along the route from Hopkinton to Boston. If Palmer and Zappala finish, they will move from longtime entrants to quarter-century streakers in one of road racing’s smallest circles. (baa.org)
