Boston Marathon 2021: 4 Locals Talk About Why They're Running

WAYLAND, MA — Marathon Monday is going to look a little different in 2021: it'll be in October, and the crowds at the Hopkinton start line will be much smaller due to the pandemic.

But for local runners in the 2021 Boston Marathon — the first one since 2019 — the reason they're going the distance is much the same as in other years. Ahead of the Oct. 11 race, Patch gathered the stories of four local marathoners, who are being driven by causes they want to support.

Kate Taunton-Rigby, Wayland

This will be a poignant year for Taunton-Rigby. Not only is she running the marathon with her husband, but the couple is on the verge of hitting $100,000 in funds raised for Boston Children's Hospital — a milestone they reached after running a combined 15 marathons.

Taunton-Rigby had some college track experience, but didn't start running marathons until she entered the workforce. She worked for a company in Boston whose CEO regularly ran the New York City Marathon, which was her first taste of 26.2 miles.

"It is very true when you're done you decide if you'll absolutely not do this again,'" she said.

She decided to continue. Taunton-Rigby ran NYC four years in a row before qualifying for Boston. When she decided to do five Boston Marathons in a row, she started running for charity. Taunton-Rigby has run to support two patient-partners receiving care at Boston Children's: Tyler, who was born with a congenital heart defect, and Ellie, who was diagnosed with childhood leukemia.

Although it was a virtual event, the 2020 Boston Marathon was particularly special for Taunton-Rigby. As she crossed the finish line near her home in Wayland, Tyler, who recently graduated high school, was running by her side. Ellie, meanwhile, has gone into remission.

Thomas Noah, Framingham

Two weeks before the Boston Marathon, Framingham High School graduate Thomas Noah was just coming off a seven-mile run up and down the Blue Hills in Milton. It's no easy feat with so much elevation, even for someone who has run five Boston Marathons (seven marathons total).

But Noah has been working at being a runner for years dating back to the years he spent at the Ron Burton Training Village in Hubbardston. The camp, founded by former New England Patriots running back Ron Burton Sr., provides an array of spiritual and physical training for young people — including the daily mandatory 4:30 a.m. 7-mile run through the woods of Worcester County.

Noah, who was born in Liberia but grew up in Framingham, completed the camp's full seven-year program, which led to a Stonehill College scholarship, and now a career in business. He's running the 2021 marathon to raise money for the training village as a way to give back.

"It's all about living selflessly, about leadership and accountability," he said. "That's why I started running."

On top of the fundraising effort, Noah is aiming for a sub-4 hour Boston Marathon this year. That means he'll have to average a mile pace of 9:09, and there are plenty of hills along the course.

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Nathaniel McMahan, Milford

Nathaniel McMahan is running the 2021 Boston Marathon for a cause that's very close to home.

In 2018, McMahan's daughter, Caroline, was diagnosed with a type of childhood kidney cancer called nephroblastoma. Caroline had surgery at Boston Children's to remove the tumor followed by more than seven months of chemotherapy at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

In May, Caroline celebrated two years since her last chemotherapy treatment. McMahan is running in 2021 to give back to the Dana Faber's Jimmy Fund Clinic. Just a few days before the marathon, he was only about $1,500 shy of reaching his $13,100 marathon fundraising goal.

Larry Krakauer, Wayland

Larry Krakauer (and his brother, David) will be one of five runners in the 2021 race raising money for the Pine Street Inn. In 2021, the two brothers have raised nearly $35,000 for the shelter. The money will go toward helping shelter residents move from the streets into permanent housing.

The 2021 Boston Marathon will be Krakauer's second attempt after completing the race for the first time in 2015.

"I am using the word 'run' with poetic license, as my knees are currently unhappy with me, and me with them," he said in his fundraising appeal. "But I am psyched to be supporting Pine Street. So please save your knees, and help make my knee contribution especially meaningful."

More 2021 Boston Marathon coverage:

• Worcester's Boston Marathon Runners: See The 26 Athletes
• Framingham Boston Marathon Runners: See The 48 Athletes
• Marlborough Boston Marathon Runners: See The 11 Athletes
• Milford Boston Marathon Runners: See The 7 Athletes
• Sudbury Boston Marathon Runners: See The 18 Athletes
• Natick Boston Marathon Runners: See The 52 Athletes
• Wayland's Boston Marathon Runners: See The 22 Athletes