Lafayette siblings complete rare feat of running the Boston Marathon 10 years in a row

In hopes of highlighting Global Running Day, which was on June 7, the Journal & Courier is sharing a story of two world-class runners living in Lafayette.

For the average Joe, the idea of running a marathon, which is a 26.2-mile race, could be seen as a daunting challenge and one that not many are willing to attempt in their lifetime.

Out of all the marathon races in the world, one of the hardest to qualify for is the Boston Marathon, due to its difficult qualifying time requirements.

The race has a variety of necessary qualifying times which are determined by one’s age. 

Any male between the ages of 18 and 34 years old would need to run 26.2 miles in under three hours, or in other words, they would need to maintain a pace of at least 6:52 per mile for three hours. 

Not an easy feat for the average person.

But for Malena Salazar and Jose Gaeta, two business owners in Lafayette, Ind. and -- secretly to the city -- world-class sibling athletes, that statement might actually be true.

Not only did the pair run in the 2023 Boston Marathon, but the pair achieved a goal that only a few in the world have been able to accomplish.

Completing a decade of Boston Marathons

The 2023 race marked the siblings’ tenth consecutive year of running the Boston Marathon.

A feat that by 2019, only around 433 -- or around 1 percent of racers -- had ever been able to achieve throughout the history of the race.

So, perhaps it can be stated that Lafayette, Ind. houses two athletes that have achieved one of the most difficult challenges any distance runner could attempt.

“I think the most amazing thing about this experience is that we did it consecutively,” said Gaeta.

“Things worked out in a way that we qualified 10 times in a row, and we didn’t receive any injuries.

“Like looking back at it all, it’s like holy-moly how did we do it?”

What does it take to be a champion?

When one thinks of a world-class athlete, the image of a person training since they were a child, might come to mind.

But for Salazar and Gaeta, this is the furthest thing from the truth. 

In all actuality, prior to becoming runners, Salazar and Gaeta were just two average joes living in Lafayette and building up their businesses.

Salazar operates Malena’s Hair Design which has expanded to two locations in Lafayette, while Gaeta operates his own auto repair shop, Automotive Solutions.

The pair grew up in a small village called Salazares in Mexico, and growing up they didn’t really perceive sports as anything other than a fun activity to do after school.

Occasionally, the pair would be asked by their teachers in elementary and middle school to participate in a kids 1K race down in Mexico City, but besides those moments, the pair didn’t really interact with the sport of cross country.

It wasn’t until the pair were well into their adult lives that they even considered running a marathon.

It all started with a half-marathon in Indiana

What initially inspired Salazar and Gaeta to start running was the first-ever Boilermaker Half-Marathon that started in 2012.

At the time, the siblings were in their late 30s and early 40s.

Salazar had always enjoyed running, and she figured that she ought to ask her brother to join her in running the half marathon since he enjoyed sports. 

Both thought that it would be a good experience and nothing else. They expected to finish near the bottom of the pack since it was their first-ever race and then call it a day.

But instead, the pair ended up completing the race near the top of the pack.

They also discovered that if they were able to maintain their pace and shave off around 15 minutes to their overall time, they could potentially qualify for the Boston Marathon for their age group.

For Gaeta, he was expected to beat a time of 3:05:00 (35-39 age group) and Salazar was expected to beat a time of 3:40:00 (40-44 age group).

After discovering how close they were to qualifying for one of the world’s greatest races, the pair went on an almost one-year training montage, in order to prepare their bodies for the 26-mile journey and teach it how to maintain a crazy running pace.

And after months of training, the pair earned qualifying times at the Monumental Marathon, which is in Indianapolis. 

“I could not believe that at my age, that I could run a full marathon. I was like, 26 miles at my age, no way,” Salazar said.

“It was just a crazy moment when we qualified. It took us a second to realize what happened.

The siblings' first Boston Marathon was a year after the bombing

After a year of training, the pair qualified for the 2014 Boston Marathon.

“It was one year after the Boston bombing. Which we had intended to run but we missed the qualifying time by a couple of minutes. Which I’m super glad that didn’t work out," Gaeta said.

“But it was a year after, and half of Boston was on the sidelines rooting for us. The ambiance of the moment and human sensation was out of this world. I don’t know how to describe to it,” he said.

“There are sharpshooters on top of the buildings, everyone is looking out for you, and the whole city is cheering for you.”

The city was recovering from the tragedy that had happened the year prior and saw the 2014 marathon as a moment to celebrate those who lost their lives, Boston’s resilience, and the longevity of the race.

“It was the first time in my life that I felt like a star. People would see our jackets and treat us like heroes and treated us so kindly,” Salazar said.

It was a moment that both siblings will forever keep in their memories. Everywhere they went that day they were treated like Bostonian royalty.

It was a moment that very few are able to experience in their lives, and it was something that both grew to love.

By the end of the day, they both knew that they wanted to come again the following year, and so, they began training for next year’s race.

And this continued to happen over the next 10 years, as the pair began participating in other world-class races like the Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon and many others.

Ten years later and a new goal to achieve

After completing their ninth Boston Marathon, the pair began to feel the stress of all the years of running on their bodies.

The siblings estimated that they had each run a total of 1,300 miles a year, and after nine years of running, that was almost 11,700 miles within a decade.

No longer in their late 30s and early 40s, the pair were now reaching their 50s. 

For a moment they considered if they should even try for the tenth race. But that thought quickly left their minds after realizing that it would be their tenth race. 

An achievement only 1 percent of racers can say they achieved.

And so, for one last time, the pair did their yearly training montage, although they could tell it was getting harder to achieve.

Although both made qualifying times, Gaeta had gotten injured after one of the races, feeling a sharp pain in his leg.

Gaeta considered dropping out of the 2023 Boston Marathon, but with the last race in his grasp, Gaeta went against the advice of his fellow runners and “ran” the race.

“This race was extremely important; I didn’t want to miss it. I literally went in limping thinking that my leg would warm up and let me run,” Gaeta.

“I was wrong. I started limping and literally limped for 26.2 miles. I was in so much pain, it felt like there was a knife in my leg. It was the most painful thing in my entire life.

“But we did it. We finished the race.”

Fully enjoying the Boston Marathon experience

Luckily for Salazar, she did not get injured from running the race. But unlike most years, she took her time completing this race.

“The race is literally your prize for qualifying and training,” Salazar said.

“I wanted to take the most of the moment because this might be my last one. 

“I was like, this is going to be the most fun race I’ve run in. And it was. I remember my time being bad, like 4 hours, but I did not care about my time.”

Along the race route, Salazar stared at the giant buildings that she had become accustomed to running past each year. But this year she took an extra moment to appreciate them. Perhaps for one last time.

The pair completed the race, posing for photos and officially holding up their tenth Boston medal. 

It’s unclear if the siblings will attempt another yearly training montage, but what is clear, is that no one can take away the achievement that they worked so hard to accomplish over the last decade.

Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.