Boston Marathon
“She inspired me to realize that life only stops being an adventure when you stop dreaming and believing.”
James Hebert is running the 2026 Boston Marathon.
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: James Hebert
Age: 62
From: Encinitas, Calif.
The shirt I wore for my Boston Marathon qualifying race in California last year is of an eye-strainingly bright and yet indeterminate shade: not quite purple, not quite pink. I like to think of it as the color of Not Done Yet. It was the closest I could find to the color of lilacs, and I chose it in honor of my mom, Janice, who died in 2023.
A transplanted New Englander, she loved lilacs — the sight of them, the scent of them — almost as much as she loved grand adventures, from hang-gliding in her 40s to skydiving in her 60s to ziplining in her 80s.
When I ran Boston for my first (and so far only) time in 1999, I made the mistake of suggesting to her afterward that I might be ready to retire from running. Even today, I can still remember her gentle and bemused smile as she replied, in so many words: “Dude, you’re only 35!” In that moment and so many others, she inspired me to realize that life only stops being an adventure when you stop dreaming and believing.
And so on April 20, I plan to fly the lilac (or lilac-ish) in her honor from Hopkinton to Boston. And then when I’m done, and if I’m lucky, I’ll pick a few early blooms to bring home.
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