Resident to Run 24th Consecutive Boston Marathon

Name: John Levey

Age: 51 on race day

Marathon experience: "This will be my 24th consecutive Boston Marathon," he said. "I have done 15 other marathons all over the US, ranging from other 'big city' marathons to smaller races with only a couple of thousand entrants."

Reason for running: "Aside from the health and fitness benefits, I run two marathons a year to stay focused," he said. "Once you set goals for yourself everything seems to fall into place. Also, it is great to get outside and be active in all types of weather."

Training tip: "Now that I am in my fifties, it is not realistic for me to run two super-hard marathons a year," he said. "I am starting to use Boston as a build-up to a hopefully strong Fall marathon effort. I have added a lot of daily core strengthening and stretching work and I think it has really helped."