By the time Marathon Monday rolls around each year, the Boston spirit is in full swing and stronger than ever.
Runners from all over the world come to Massachusetts to run this historic course ranging 26.2 miles from Hopkinton all the way to the finish line on Boylston Street in Boston, with stops along the way in Ashland, Framingham, Natick, Wellesley, Newton and Brookline.
Along the entire course, spectators crowded the guardrails to cheer on these empowering athletes, many of whom are locals themselves. This year’s 2026 Boston Marathon had 24,362 qualified participants. Within this field, 120 countries were represented, alongside all 50 states.
For approximately 10,710 athletes, this Boston Marathon was their first.
And for Simmons alumna Katelyn Quinlan, this is a dream she too hopes to accomplish one day in the near future.
“I always had the goal of running the Boston Marathon at some point in my life,” she said. “Just growing up in the area and watching the Boston Marathon all four years that I was at Simmons, I knew that was something I would absolutely love to do.”
Quinlan is currently training for the Maine Coast Marathon which will take place in Wells, Maine on May 3. She hopes that the time she posts there will be enough to help her qualify for next year’s marathon.
“My goal postgrad was to start running, start with 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and then gradually transition to running the full marathon,” she stated. “[I knew] it would mean more to me if I qualified for it than ran with a charity.”
Quinlan graduated from Simmons in 2024 from the nursing program and now works night shifts as a nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Her job doesn’t allow for a lot of free time, so she has to squeeze in training whenever she can.
“Because I work full-time…the process of training looks a little different than probably what a lot of standard training looks like,” Quinlan admitted. “I run four days a week…on the days I am not working…I’m definitely tired all the time.”
Variety is the spice of life and the same is true for training. Quinlan mixes long runs, interval runs, tempo runs and easy runs into her training plan. She also prioritizes her health through recovery processes such as weight training, core power classes and yoga.
Quinlan’s primary background isn’t in running, however. At Simmons, she was a captain of the Swim and Dive team, which she was on with her sister, Carli Quinlan, a current Simmons senior.
“We were always pushing each other to be better,” Carli Quinlan reflected. “I never wanted her to get too far ahead of me in sets. So, you know, she would always push me a little bit harder. But I feel like that’s just kind of how we’ve been as siblings…Her hard work is very admirable.”
She made it clear she has always seen her sister as an inspiration, both athletically and academically, adding how motivational it would be to watch Katelyn Quinlan from Boylston Street next year.
“I would love to see my sister cross the finish line and I fully believe she can qualify in the next few marathons she runs,” Carli Quinlan remarked.
