26.TRUE Marathon brings runners on a tour of the 'real' Boston

The 129th Boston Marathon happens Monday, April 21. But there’s another 26.2-mile race happening on Saturday, and the course loops through the city.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu called 26.TRUE the “real” Boston marathon last year.

The unsanctioned race, organized by Dorchester-based PIONEERS Run Crew, began during the pandemic in 2020 when the Boston Marathon moved to a virtual format. Captains of the PIONEERS Run Crew created a 26.2-mile route through Boston neighborhoods for the virtual marathon participants to run together. That became 26.TRUE.

Now in its fifth year, the race is designed to be more accessible than the Boston Marathon. The group encourages all runners to sign up, no qualifying times needed, and a $100 registration fee. (The Boston Marathon costs $250.)

Started in 2017, the PIONEERS Run Crew motto is “all faces, all paces.” The group is a safe, encouraging space for runners of color to feel supported, and they strive to bring this to all those running 26.TRUE.

“ That is exactly the story that we hope to share with 26.TRUE of really spotlighting and celebrating neighborhoods that are just underrepresented in running,” said Aliese Lash, co-race director and PIONEERS Run Crew captain.

The race takes place on city streets. Organizers had to cut down the number of neighborhoods the race passes through from 14 to four this year due to safety concerns since roads will not be closed during the race. The marathon course loops twice through the historically black neighborhoods of Dorchester, Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Mattapan.

“We know everybody's familiar with downtown, and people go there for the Boston Marathon finish line and everything, but we don't live there,” Lash said. “What we know is our own neighborhoods, and it's really special to us to still be able to run in familiar spaces to us.”

The race capacity used to be 200 runners, but it expanded to 250 this year, with 100 spots reserved for first-time marathon runners.

“We're really, really proud of that,” Lash said. “We're excited to give people their first marathon experience and really excited to bring a lot of celebratory, supportive energy to all 100 runners.”

This will be Nathalia Moran’s first time running 26.TRUE. While not her first marathon, she is looking forward to the supportive atmosphere of this race.

“ I live in Boston and so to be running a course where people that I admire and that pour into the communities that I'm a part of are all there to celebrate this moment is so exciting,” said Moran.

Bruce Martin has run the race every year since the start. He began running in 2017 to support a friend on her weight loss journey and caught the running bug. Martin ran a 5K, a 10K, a half marathon and a full marathon in about a year and a half.

He has also run the Boston Marathon and said it was a lonely experience. Martin didn’t spot many familiar faces along the route. With 26.TRUE, he felt a greater sense of community and he’s excited to experience that again this year.

“ There's going to be a lot of cheers from people we don't know, but they look like us,” said Martin. “They see us. They may want to join us, and that's one of the bright spots about 26.TRUE.”

The race has six cheer zones where run clubs, community members, friends and family encourage runners as they pass by. And locals hype up runners even if they aren’t in the designated zones.

“As you're running down the street in areas where people are just like walking, and they turn around and see you and they cheer you on, there's something really special about that that makes this experience so unique,” said co-race director and runner Sharon Lee. “ It feels so different to get that fist bump from a neighbor who just happens to be walking out of their house, and they see you running, and they're cheering you on.”

Lash said some community members start as volunteers and are inspired by watching the race, so they sign up to run the following year.

“ The magic of witnessing the smiles, the support, the energy is just unlike anything that I've ever been a part of before, and that day is just full of really beautiful scenes of resilience,” she said.

26.TRUE encourages runners to be a “force on the course” and think about what they are a force for.

“ I'm a force for those who can't: so those who can't run, those who want to but aren't able to, and I try to inspire other people,” said Martin. “I've done enough marathons where I can stop and be happy with it, but I know when I'm out there, somebody's watching, so I try and keep going for them and for myself.”

Martin said the end of the race is special because every runner, no matter their finish time, gets to break the tape.

“When you cross the finish line, you feel like you won.”

The 26.TRUE runners take off at 7 a.m. from the Shelburne Community Center in Roxbury on Saturday, April 19.