Bib No. 321

Chris Nikic sported bib number 321, finishing his second Boston Marathon in 5:38:51. Nikic's number was representative of the third extra chromosome on the 21st marker, a signature of Down Syndrome. As part of a global effort to support inclusion of neuro-divergent athletes, bib number 321 will annually go towards athletes like Nikic in the future.

Nikic made history by becoming the first athlete with Down Syndrome to finish an Ironman in 2020. For his efforts raising awareness and inspiring others, Chris was presented the Dick & Rick Hoyt Award at this year's Boston Marathon Opening Celebration.

Keep Showing Up

More than 100 finishers are part of the Quarter Century Club, a group of athletes who have run — and finished — at least the last 25 consecutive Boston Marathons. Leading the way is Michigan's Mark Bauman, who finished his 53rd straight Boston Marathon in 5:44:40. In second place on the QCC list is race director Dave McGillivray, who completed his 50th straight Boston on the evening of Patriots' Day.

With her 36th Boston finish in a row, California's Patty Hung matched Andrea Hatch's all-time record for consecutive women's finishes. Her final time was 5:08:03, placing fourth in her age group.

Notably missing from this year's results was Maryland legend Bennett Beach, who had finished each and every Boston Marathon since 1968 — 54 in a row. Injuries sustained from a bicycle accident in February prevented him from toeing the line this year. We wish Bennett a speedy recovery!

Record Setters

Samantha Roecker set a pending Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon ever run in scrubs, running 2:48:02 while raising awareness and funds in support of nurses’ mental health. Wearing nurse attire, Samantha broke the previous record by nearly 20 minutes and fundraised more than $40,000 in the process.

Roecker is a nurse at Penn Medicine and a family medicine nurse practitioner student at the University of Pennsylvania. She previously ran at Providence College and placed fifth at the 2019 Pan-Am Games Marathon.

Jacky Hunt-Broersma didn’t just finish third in the T63-64 Para Athletics Division; her Hopkinton-to-Boston run was no. 92 of her record-setting 104 marathons in 104 consecutive days. Beginning on January 17, Hunt-Broersma set out to run a marathon a day with the hope of establishing a new Guinness World Record. She did just that, and raised over $192,000 for Amputee Blade Runners in the process.