BOSTON MARATHON
New Mexico runners chase glory in Boston Marathon
Rio Rancho mother and son among 45 New Mexicans set to race
On Monday morning, approximately 30,000 invited competitors will congregate in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, for the kickoff to the 130th running of the Boston Marathon, widely considered the most prestigious annual running event in the world.
The number of participants is roughly 10,000 more than the population of Hopkinton and a far cry from the 15 runners who took part in the inaugural event in 1897.
Among the masses this year will be representatives from more than 130 countries and all 50 states. There are 45 from New Mexico, with 32 residing in the Albuquerque metro area. They will attempt to negotiate the 26.2-mile course that ends in the heart of Boston. On top of all that humanity will be about half a million onlookers along the route.
At 9:37 a.m. ET, the first wave of runners will break from the start when 100 men in the pro division get things going. Ten minutes later, 100 women in the pro division will take off. Then, at 10, the first of six large waves will commence. The final grouping begins at 11:21.
In the 2025 event, 48 New Mexicans finished the race. Ten of those are back to give it another go. Included are Rio Rancho mother/son duo Jaime Dawes and Caiden Dawes.
Family bragging rights
Jaime, a 47-year-old law firm associate, has participated in every Boston race since 2015 and last year set a personal best with a time of 3 hours, 11 minutes, 19 seconds. That was 13th fastest among state runners.
鈥淟ast year at Boston was my 100th marathon," she said. "And I have two 100-milers coming up 鈥 one in Colorado in July and another in France, Italy and Switzerland in August.鈥
Quite impressive for someone who didn鈥檛 compete in athletics while at Las Cruces High and didn鈥檛 run her first marathon until 2012.
What helped make last year鈥檚 race special for her was that she finished ahead of her son, although she didn鈥檛 know it at the time since they didn鈥檛 start in the same wave and never saw each other on the course.
鈥淚t was funny that I beat him,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 had no idea because it was such a fluke. I got quite a lot of attention back home, though, with people saying, 鈥楬ey, you beat Caiden.鈥欌
But the Boston event she said she enjoyed the most was the one in 2018 despite the fact the weather was terrible.
鈥淚t was so windy and cold, in the high 30s, and with all the rain we had to run through standing water,鈥 she said. 鈥淎t one point my shoe became untied and I couldn鈥檛 tie it in the cold. A spectator had to help me. I didn鈥檛 wear a jacket either but had gloves.鈥
Bringing gloves again Monday might not be a bad idea. The weather forecast calls for partly cloudy skies, a 9% chance of rain, with winds around 13 mph, and a temperature range from 33 to 46.
Caiden, 21, who competed in cross country and track at Cleveland High before graduating in 2022, aims to have a much better race this year than in 2025, when his time was 3:12:38. This go-round, he's shooting to beat 2:40.
And, yes, he surely doesn鈥檛 want his mom to outperform him again.
鈥淵eah, of course!鈥 he said with a chuckle.
Last year鈥檚 experience will help him prepare.
鈥淚 was dealing with nerves, I was underfueled and didn鈥檛 feel well after what I ate the night before,鈥 he said of a seafood dinner. 鈥淚 felt it after three miles.鈥
He also said that an injury that sidelined him for two months from last November to January might play a positive role Monday.
鈥淚 had an IT band problem after doing seven races on seven weekends,鈥 he said. 鈥淣ow this time, I鈥檓 going feel like I鈥檓 a little more rested.鈥 The iliotibial (IT) band is a tendon in the thigh.
A goal finally reached
Like many New Mexico runners in the race, Albuquerque鈥檚 Jane Pilger, 50, will be making her Boston Marathon debut after trying to do so for years.
Pilger, an Albuquerque Academy alum who is now an , has long been a participant in triathlons along with her husband, Todd. Along the way she sometimes learned the ropes in awkward fashion.
鈥淥ne time when we were out on our bikes Todd told me my helmet was on backward,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut at the end, I was like 鈥榯his was so much fun I want to do it again.鈥欌
Since then, she said, they鈥檝e been all over the world competing in triathlons.
鈥淏ut running has always been my weaker of the three. I can remember my first 3-mile race, which I thought was just never going to end,鈥 Jane said. 鈥淏ut then I slowly built into different distances and we did our first marathon in 2012, the Big Sur in California.
鈥淎t that point, though, I was nowhere near fast enough to be able to qualify for Boston, but I always thought that would be so amazing. So I started becoming a better runner and started believing maybe it was possible.鈥
Last year, she finally broke through and had a Boston qualifying time in the 2025 marathon in Eugene, Oregon, making it by less than a minute for the 50-54 age bracket with a time of 3:44.40. She was paced in that event by Albuquerque friend Derek Surka, who also will be running in Boston Marathon on Monday along with wife Charrissa Lin. It will be his eighth Boston event and his wife鈥檚 10th.
鈥淢y goal for the race isn鈥檛 to run my best time ever, but to just soak it all up,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 want to have a blast and pay attention to everything that鈥檚 around me.鈥
To that end, the Pilgers joined Surka and Lin on a Thursday flight to Boston, where they'll be doing sightseeing, including taking in a Red Sox baseball game Sunday.
"They are going to be our tour guides," Jane said.
Busy guy
Surka, 54, said he has run 鈥渙nly鈥 26 marathons, but later this year plans to run five such events in a five-week stretch to celebrate his 55th birthday.
He'll be traveling to Chicago, Baltimore, Niagara Falls, New York City and finishing in Athens, Greece.
On Monday, he said he鈥檒l be shooting for a time of 3:05 to 3:10, which would be an improvement over his 3:18.06 time of last year.