Kelsey McGuire did not just return to the Boston Marathon this year. She elevated her performance to one of the top finishes in the country.
The Tega Cay native crossed the finish line Monday with a time of 2 hours, 52 minutes and 17 seconds, placing 161st out of 12,777 female finishers and 146th out of 5,787 competitors in the women’s 18 to 39 age group. McGuire was the fastest amateur woman in the top area finishers.
The result marks a dramatic improvement from her 2025 debut at Boston, where she finished in 3 hours and 6 minutes while raising more than $4,600 for the Knox Martin Foundation, an organization dedicated to brain cancer research.
McGuire is a product of the Fort Mill School District, where she spent all 12 years of her K through 12 education before graduating from Fort Mill High School. She went on to earn her degree from the University of Georgia and is set to begin medical school at the Medical University of South Carolina in August.
The Boston Marathon is one of the most prestigious road races in the world and one of the most difficult to enter, requiring runners to meet strict qualifying standards. McGuire’s back to back appearances and her continued improvement reflect a level of athletic commitment that few amateur runners achieve.
A year ago, the Tega Cay community rallied around McGuire as she made her Boston debut. On Monday, she gave that community even more reason to celebrate.
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