9 Charlotte residents running the 2026 Boston Marathon

How it works: Athletes either qualify for Boston, run on behalf of a charity or support other athletes in their quest to cross the finish line.

What to expect: More than 32,500 people will participate in the 130th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20. You can watch it on ESPN2 beginning at 9am.

• Roughly 140 participants call Charlotte home, not counting the city's surrounding suburbs.

Here are nine Charlotte-area residents running the Boston Marathon.

Editor's note: Runners are listed alphabetically by last name. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Maddie Barnes

Barnes, a Charlotte native, has been running since she joined Girls on the Run in third grade. She comes from a family of runners.

• This will be her second time running Boston, and her fifth marathon overall. She plans to run all of the majors. So far she has run New York, Chicago and Boston.

Favorite run clubs: Morning. Run Club, The Sole and Morning Miles

Advice for runners: Remember why you're doing this! Running has brought me challenges, wonderful friends and profound gratitude for the sport. It's all about getting out there and having a great time doing it.

Carter Coughlin

Coughlin, a Knoxville, Tennessee, native who now calls south Charlotte home with his wife, began his running journey in fourth grade.

• "My gym teacher saw me running on the playground and told me I should check out the cross country team," Coughlin tells Axios. "I've been running ever since."

• This will be his first time running Boston and his third marathon overall. He ran track and cross country at Wake Forest.

Favorite run club: Morning Miles

Advice for runners: The best thing you can do for yourself at any level is to take off your watch, forget about your heart rate and run way slower than you think.

Hannah Costello

Costello grew up in Denver and ran track and cross country in high school and in college at the University of Colorado. She found marathons after college.

• Now she's preparing to run Boston for the first time. This will be her fourth marathon. She has also run Berlin, another major.

Favorite run clubs: Morning. Run Club and Morning Miles

Advice for runners: Don't let outside pressure or trends influence why you run or what races you sign up for. Running is much more enjoyable and sustainable when you find what motivates you and you choose to run for yourself.

Marek Davis

Davis is an Indianapolis native who grew up playing soccer. He began lifting in college, but his running journey began after college, while he was living in Chicago.

• This will be his first time running Boston and his fourth marathon overall.

Favorite run club: Morning Miles

Advice for runners: "Don't get too caught up in your pace or performance, and remember that you can always push yourself harder than you think you can."

Sydney Hoback

Hoback is an Ohio transplant who has called Charlotte home for nearly seven years. A former soccer player, her running journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic while all of the gyms were closed.

• She ran the half-marathon during the Novant Health Charlotte Marathon and was hooked.
• This will be her second time running Boston. She's chasing the majors, with plans to run Berlin this fall.

Zoom in: Hoback is running Boston as a guide for a blind/visually impaired athlete through Achilles International. She'll guide her friend Anthony Butler, a fellow Charlotte resident. Butler is the president of the local Achilles International chapter.

• This will be the duo's third marathon together, having completed London and New York last year.
• "If anyone is looking to get involved in Achilles, we meet on Saturdays at Freedom Park [at 8am]," Hoback says. "Come join us!"

Favorite run club: Morning. Run Club

• This all-female run club has been a game-changer for Hoback.
• "I went from running almost all my miles alone to now running with friends nearly every time," Hoback says. "If anyone is debating it, I'd highly recommend stepping out of your comfort zone and just showing up to a run club!"

Advice for runners: Don't give up — take it one step at a time. Running is as much mental as physical, and finding friends to share the miles with makes a huge difference.

Christopher James Lees

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra's resident conductor is gearing up for his second Boston Marathon and his sixth full marathon.

• The Washington, D.C.-area native got into running during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• "It started as a form of self-care and then evolved into a passion, and now it's a daily practice that brings clarity to heart, mind, body and soul," Lees tells Axios.

Favorite run clubs: Summit Coffee, South End Coffee Run Club, The Sole and Morning Miles

Advice for runners: "My 11-year old son and I have always taken inspiration from this paraphrased quote of A.A. Milne (author of "Winnie the Pooh"): 'You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and faster than you think!'"

Pauline Logsdon

Logsdon, a Wiesbaden, Germany, native and south Charlotte resident, is the co-founder of Morning. Run Club, an all-female run club.

• "My dad was always an avid runner and after graduating college I finally decided to give it a shot," she tells Axios.
• This will be her second time running Boston and her eighth marathon overall. She's chasing all of the majors.

Favorite run club: Morning. Run Club

Advice for runners: It doesn't matter where you're starting — stay consistent, run with people who lift you up and remember your mind will give up before your body does.

Lisa Murray

Murray, a Red Bank, New Jersey, native, began running around five years ago after buying a Peloton treadmill. She tells Axios she didn't have prior running experience.

• "This will be my first time running the Boston Marathon, but it will be my sixth World Major Marathon, not including New York City, which I have completed twice," Murray says.

Favorite run club: My favorite Charlotte running club is, ironically, Black Men Run, as my coach is an ambassador and I often join them for group runs. I also run with the Mad Miles Run Club.

Advice for runners: Start slow — gradually introduce your body to running by beginning with walking, then easing into jogging. I always say that any movement forward is a pace.

Matt Nolan

Nolan is running his first marathon in honor of his late mother, Bonnie, who died in December after battling pancreatic cancer. He's running on Blood Cancer United's fundraising team and has raised more than $200,000 so far.

Nolan, a Muskegon, Michigan, native, began running to focus on his health. It's cheaper than a gym membership, he tells Axios. He's run 13 half-marathons over the last 10 years.

• "Seeing others in this community tackle the challenge took away my excuses and helped inspire me to consider it a possibility," Nolan says.

Favorite run club: Barn Burners, which is where he met his wife.

Advice for runners: "We humans can all do so much more than we think possible — and that never stops being true no matter how many times you push past previous barriers," Nolan says. "You can do it. Try. Showing up is 95% of the battle and the results will follow. There is always an excuse (I was hit by a car jogging and spent 4 days in the ICU in 2019, and look at me now!) — ignore the excuses, put in the work and be what you want to be."