Her first marathon is for her dad and grandfather — lifelong South Boston residents

“It feels incredibly special to run for the city that has truly given my family everything we know.”

Olivia Dennett is running the 2026 Boston Marathon. (Photo courtesy of Olivia Dennett)

April 9, 2026 | 3:40 PM

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. Looking for more race day content? Sign up for Boston.com’s pop-up Boston Marathon newsletter.

Name: Olivia Dennett
Age: 22
From: Wilmington

I’m honored to be running the 2026 Boston Marathon for South Boston Neighborhood House — The Ollie — an organization that truly embodies the heart of South Boston.

She’s running Boston for her mom and cancer research

At 22 years old, this will be my first marathon. It feels incredibly special to run for the city that has truly given my family everything we know.

South Boston has always been home for my family. My grandparents immigrated from Italy and opened Joseph’s Bakery in 1967, building not just a business, but a cornerstone of the community. The bakery represented hard work, sacrifice, and neighbors supporting neighbors. My grandfather passed away last March, and we miss him more than words can say. He was deeply grateful for the love and loyalty this neighborhood showed our family. My Nonnie still lives in South Boston, and Sunday dinners at her house keep us connected to the traditions he built.

My dad, Billy, was also a lifelong South Boston resident who passed away from cancer when I was seven. He loved this neighborhood so much. Running for The Ollie feels like a meaningful way to honor both him and my grandfather — and the generations of my family who built their lives here.

From after-school programs to support for elderly residents, The Ollie brings people together and strengthens families across South Boston. I feel immense pride to be running for The Ollie and everything they support in this community.

Running for The Ollie means running for family, legacy, and home. Carrying the spirit of South Boston across the finish line will be the greatest honor.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.

Annie Jonas is a Community writer at Boston.com. She was previously a local editor at Patch and a freelancer at the Financial Times.

Sign up for our Boston Marathon newsletter

Get Boston Marathon registration information, start times, live runner tracking, road closures, live updates from race day, special features, and more.

    !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
    {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
    n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
    if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';
    n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
    t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
    s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',
    'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
                const onetrustStorageConsent = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem( 'consent_one_trust_bdc' ) );
        if ( ( onetrustStorageConsent !== null ) ) {
            /* The above code is parsing the JSON data from the local storage and storing it in a variable.
             * Checking if the user has given consent for the cookie C0004.
             * If the user has given consent, the variable consent will be set to 'grant'.
             * If the user has not given consent,the variable consent will be set to 'revoke'.
             * Documentation https://developers.facebook.com/docs/meta-pixel/implementation/gdpr
            */
            if ( onetrustStorageConsent.C0004 !== true ) {
                fbq('consent', 'revoke');
                fbq('dataProcessingOptions', []);
            } else {
                fbq('consent', 'grant');
                fbq('dataProcessingOptions', ['LDU'], 0, 0);
            }
        }
            fbq('init', '989222871864976');
    fbq('track', 'PageView');



    !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()
    {n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}
    ;if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
    n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
    t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
    document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');
                const onetrustStorageConsent = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem( 'consent_one_trust_bdc' ) );
        /* The above code is parsing the JSON data from the local storage and storing it in a variable.
         * Checking if the user has given consent for the cookie C0004.
         * If the user has given consent, the variable consent will be set to 'grant'.
         * If the user has not given consent,the variable consent will be set to 'revoke'.
         * Documentation https://developers.facebook.com/docs/meta-pixel/implementation/gdpr
        */
        if ( ( onetrustStorageConsent !== null ) &amp;&amp; (onetrustStorageConsent.C0004 !== true ) ) {
            fbq('consent', 'revoke');
            fbq('dataProcessingOptions', []);
        } else {
            fbq('consent', 'grant');
            fbq('dataProcessingOptions', ['LDU'], 0, 0);
        }
            fbq('init', '813236348753005');
    fbq('track', 'PageView');

Source link