SW Florida runners are ready to tackle 130th Boston Marathon

For runners, the Boston Marathon has always stood apart. Some gain entry by running fast enough to meet one of the sport’s toughest qualifying standards. Others arrive by committing to a charity, raising thousands of dollars, and carrying a cause with them from Hopkinton to Boylston Street.

However they get there, Boston is not given. That is what makes the 130th annual race, set for April 20, so meaningful for Southwest Florida runners. Few understand that better than Dave McGillivray, who served as race director from 2001 to 2022 and continues as senior race advisor.

“I’ve been just a caretaker of this,” McGillivray said. “It was here long before I was born, and it will be here long after I am gone. I am just helping to take care of it for a while.

” McGillivray, 71, still runs the race himself. This year, he will share the course with three of his five children, making it especially meaningful. For more than five decades, he has been part of the race, including running it every year since he was 18.