What is the Boston Marathon Quarter Century Club?

Boston Marathon

For these “streakers,” running Boston is tradition. What is it about this 26.2-mile course that keeps them coming back?

Running the Boston Marathon once is a feat in its own right. But there are the athletes that just keep coming back, making this particular 26.2-mile course an annual tradition.

Those who finish the historic race at least 25 consecutive times are eligible to be considered for entry into the Quarter Century Club.

Despite any number of factors that could prevent them from making it to the starting line in Hopkinton each year — a missed bus or flight, injury or health concern, etc. –  these “streakers,” as they’re often referred to in the running community, are laced up and ready to go on the third Monday in April.

Just look at Mark Buciak, current president of the Quarter Century Club. The 64-year-old Chicago native is set to run his 46th consecutive Boston Marathon on Monday, but his path to run each year hasn’t always been a clear one.

In 2006, Buciak’s Boston Marathon streak nearly came to a halt when he learned he had a leaking aortic valve that would need to be replaced. After weighing the pros and cons of a cow valve versus mechanical valve, Buciak chose the bovine, which didn’t require him to be on blood thinners for the rest of his life and gave him the chance to continue his active marathon-training lifestyle, as reported by The Chicago Tribune in a 2019 feature.

So, just 11 weeks before his 27th Boston Marathon, Buciak underwent open-heart surgery and started on the road to recovery, while also easing back into marathon training.

This Monday will mark his 19th consecutive Boston with a cow heart valve.

For Buciak, running the world’s oldest annual marathon is an essential event year after year.

It all started in 1980 when he ran Boston for the first time at the age of 19.

“That was the beginning,” he told Boston.com on the phone. “I liked it, so I went back in 1981. And then I liked it, so I went back in 1982. And then I liked it, so I went back in 1983. And it goes on for 45 years, or now, 46.”

How did the Quarter Century Club start?

Ronald Kmiec, a Carlisle resident who ran 46 consecutive Boston Marathons from 1974 to 2019, is the founder and first president of the Quarter Century Club. The club started with 16 original members around 2001, Kmiec confirmed via Buciak.

In his initial proposal to the Boston Athletic Association, Kmiec didn’t pitch the club as a way to recognize members, but rather, as a way “to celebrate and recognize the spirit of Johnny Kelley,” the legendary marathoner who ran Boston 61 times, winning twice and finishing 58 times, Buciak explained.

Kmiec even initially proposed that the group be called “the Johnny Kelley Club,” but some further discussions led to its now name, “the Quarter Century Club,” Buciak said.

The club continues to honor Kelley’s legacy “because of his perseverance, his spirit,” Buciak said.

What does it mean to be a member of the Quarter Century Club? How has it grown over the years?

Buciak, who joined the club after completing his 25th consecutive Boston Marathon in 2004 and became an officer in 2010, implemented the following mission statement when he became president:

“The mission of the Boston Marathon Quarter Century Club (The QCC) is to recognize the achievements of its members, to share their knowledge, experience and passion with runners of all abilities, and to encourage, educate, and inspire all runners in achieving their goals. The QCC strongly supports the BAA in maintaining and enhancing the Boston Marathon as the world’s greatest running race.”

The number of active members changes by the year depending on how many runners either become eligible to join the club or retire from it. Each year, both the BAA and the QCC review their records and vet potential candidates before the QCC extends any invites to join.

As of early 2024, the QCC had 121 active members from 26 states and Canada, Buciak said.

The club hopes to add representation from a third country after Monday when runner Juan Elizondo of Mexico aims to complete his 25th consecutive Boston Marathon, according to Buciak.

A majority of the club, or 86%, are men, according to QCC records. As of April 2024, club members had finished a collective 3,888 Boston Marathons, or about 101,866 miles, Buciak said.

QCC members Mark Bauman, a Michigan resident with a streak of 55 Boston finishes, and Patty Hung, a California resident with a streak of 38, hold the record for most consecutive finishes in race history for men and women, respectively.

Bauman and Hung will serve as honorary official starters for the professional men’s and women’s races on Monday. They will fire the starting pistol in Hopkinton before jumping back into the field to start running, Chris Lotsbom, director of race communications for the BAA, told Boston.com via email.

Do Quarter Century Club members need to have consecutive finishes?

The BAA defines members of the QCC as athletes who have “completed at least 25 consecutive Boston Marathons in a row,” as outlined in its annual media guide.

Heading into this year’s race, the QCC has 119 active members – which means a couple have retired since last April. An estimated 19 potential athletes could also become eligible for the club, pending their individual 25th consecutive finishes Monday, Lotsbom noted.

Though respectful and understanding of the BAA’s definition, the QCC also maintains its own records and celebrates athletes in three categories: “active” streakers with 25 or more consecutive Boston finishes; “retired” streakers who are no longer running Boston but have recorded 25 or more consecutive Boston finishes; and athletes who are not streakers but have completed more than 25 nonconsecutive Boston Marathons.

There are many factors that could interrupt a runner’s streak. One, for example, which may attribute to the lower percentage of women in the QCC, is the timing of a pregnancy and childbirth.

Just two years ago, the BAA announced pregnancy deferral accommodations for all its events, including the Boston Marathon.

Buciak is hopeful that accommodations like these could make the QCC more accessible and allow athletes to maintain streaks within a slightly broader criteria.

For those who do maintain a consecutive streak, Lotsbom noted, “Once an athlete reaches 25+ consecutive finishes, they don’t need a qualifying time – they simply need to finish the previous year’s race to earn an entry into the next Boston Marathon.”

Regardless of whether athletes have more than 25 consecutive or cumulative finishes, the QCC finds ways to recognize them and invite them to various gatherings.

As president, Buciak creates opportunities to connect these athletes with one another. Every Boston Marathon weekend, the club coordinates a photo social on the steps of the Boston Public Library on the Saturday before the race.

That evening, the group also has a tradition of taking a carb-loading trip to Salem Street in the North End where they enjoy a pasta dinner at Al Dente Ristorante, followed by desserts at Bova’s Bakery.

“That’s our training regiment,” Buciak said. “This is very important: Al Dente followed by Bova’s. It’s a doubleheader.”

The QCC also offers Marathon Monday bus transportation to bring its members from Back Bay to the starting line in Hopkinton. Many of the members also start the race together.

Outside of the Boston Marathon, club members maintain camaraderie, connecting with each other at other races such as the Chicago Marathon in Buciak’s hometown. Even at that event, QCC members can enjoy a taste of Boston, as Buciak ensures that a supply of Bova’s pastries is flown to the Midwest.

“There’s tremendous support for one another,” the club president said, emphasizing that the QCC is one big “running family.”

“There’s no ego. There’s no animosity,” he said. “We really support each other.”

What is it about Boston that inspires athletes to keep coming back to run year after year?

For Buciak, Boston is a special place to run.

“The town of Boston is ready for the marathoners,” he said. “They respect them. They love them. They cheer them on.”

If there’s one message Buciak has for the people Boston, it’s “thank you” for being what he calls “staunch supporters.”

Buciak said he and other QCC members really value the way people show up with their family and friends to camp out at the very same spot along the course every year — regardless of the weather — ready to cheer athletes on all day.

“There’s families who come out to watch the race at the same corner for one, two, three — not years — generations,” he said.

It’s the energy and dedication of spectators throughout the course that keeps athletes like him coming back.

Buciak added that the QCC is grateful to the BAA for continuing to organize the Boston Marathon every year, adding that “it’s an honor and a privilege to be out there.”