Round Rock grandfather-granddaughter duo will run Boston Marathon as rare entry

Round Rock resident Carlos Sanchez, right, stands with his granddaughter Mia Sanchez. They will run the 2026 Boston Marathon as that event's first documented grandparent running with a grandchild after both had qualified. (Carlos Sanchez) When Mia Sanchez arrived in Boston a couple of years ago to start her postgraduate studies at Harvard, a part of her left running back home in Texas.

After all, she had competed most of her life, basically from the time she could stand to her successful years running cross-country and track at Round Rock High School and then St. Edward's University in Austin. Maybe that was behind her, she thought, as she pursued an advanced degree at the Ivy League university.

Then, during an especially brutal Northeast winter last year, the 23-year-old slipped and fell on a patch of ice. Now it hurt to run. “I told my mom that I was done with it,” she said.

A day later, her grandfather, Carlos Sanchez, called with a basic question: Would you run a marathon with me? MORE: Mia Sanchez was Round Rock's 2019 Homecoming queen — and we were there. See our photos.