Seven Rockwall-area Runners to Tackle Boston Marathon April 20, 2026, Fundraising Underway

Seven women who train out of The Run House Rockwall will toe the line at the Boston Marathon on April 20, 2026, a high-profile event that draws roughly 500,000 spectators and threads from Hopkinton along Route 135 through Ashland, Framingham, Natick and Wellesley. The race field was highly selective this year: 33,249 applicants had qualifying times and 24,362 were accepted, a backdrop that underscores the competitive achievement of these local qualifiers and raises logistical questions for early-morning routines and community support in Rockwall.

Miranda Hyvl Miranda Hyvl is the owner and coach of The Run House Rockwall and is listed among the seven local qualifiers, a run that Blue Ribbon News says will mark her seventh Boston appearance. Hyvl’s leadership anchors the group: all seven Rockwallians training for Boston are members of her program, which stages morning group runs across from the Rockwall County Courthouse at 811 Yellow Jacket Lane. She framed the effort this way: "Participating in the Boston Marathon is an honor, and we are proud of our representation at this year’s event." Hyvl’s presence as both coach and competitor tightens local visibility on April 20 and raises practical questions about whether she will start the race, a detail the available reports note as qualified but invite confirmation.

Kathy Smith Kathy Smith is one of the six Run House teammates named alongside Hyvl, part of a cohort described as women ages 35 to 65 who have put in months of shared training. The Run House schedule is explicit: group runs Tuesdays and Fridays at 5 a.m., covering 3 to 8 miles with typical attendance between 12 and 30 runners, and a Thursday 6 p.m. beginners run and walk. Those early-morning workouts have a direct community impact: local streets that normally host pre-dawn runners are expected to be quieter on race day as competitors head to Boston, and the Run House’s concentration at Yellow Jacket Lane makes it a focal point for local supporters.

Mary Courtin Mary Courtin appears in both the Run House roster and the Rockwall Running Club’s Boston list in Herald-Banner coverage, a dual appearance the reporting records without explicit membership clarification. The Herald-Banner noted that 11 Rockwall Running Club members will run Boston and that the club held a send-off breakfast at Rockwall’s IHOP where posters traced each runner’s "journey to Boston," including how many years each had run the race. That overlap between club lists highlights an organizational complexity in local running circles: the same names can appear in different team contexts, and confirming final rosters and club affiliations remains a needed follow-up.

Marni Sanders Marni Sanders is listed among the seven Run House qualifiers and represents the cohort’s middle-distance training profile that the Run House staff cultivates through consistent weekday runs and monthly social events. The Run House’s first-Wednesday "Eat Pasta Run Fasta" at Luigi’s is a recurring community ritual designed to combine social support with carbohydrate-loading culture ahead of long races. Those rituals, while simple, form part of the infrastructure that prepares Rockwall athletes for a marathon whose course will be lined by roughly half a million spectators.

Carrie Varner Carrie Varner is another name that appears both on the Run House list and among Rockwall Running Club members slated to run Boston, a duplication the sources list explicitly without resolving. The Rockwall Running Club traceable history is rooted in Barrett Hopper’s efforts after he moved to Rockwall in November 2004, launched a youth track program in 2005 and, by 2009, turned Sunday long runs into a formal club that later built a Boston training program. The Herald-Banner’s team photo, credited to Jim Hardin, underscores the club’s public presence and its community send-off activity.

Jessica Carney Jessica Carney completes the Run House list of seven qualifiers and, like her teammates, has been part of the early-morning cadence that defines the local training pipeline. The Boston Marathon’s club competition rules shape regional strategy: any RRCA club team may enter as many as 15 runners per division with scoring based on the top three fastest times, a structure that has prompted area clubs to marshal squads and plan team entries. That competitive architecture is visible in nearby organizations such as the Plano Pacers, who fielded large teams this year and have altered the regional club calculus.

Diana Sterling Diana Sterling rounds out the Run House roster of seven women heading to Boston, representing the age range documented by Blue Ribbon News and the concentrated community training effort centered at 811 Yellow Jacket Lane. The Dallas News reporting on regional competition noted that Plano Pacers veteran Clint Bell assembled multiple squads and said, "The response has been overwhelming," reflecting interest across North Texas in the Boston qualifiers and underscoring how Rockwall athletes will enter a crowded, enthusiastic environment on race day.

Looking ahead, several reporting gaps remain that affect residents and civic partners who want to support the runners or plan around the event: sources did not provide specific fundraising figures, beneficiary organizations, or detailed send-off logistics beyond the RRC IHOP breakfast and Run House social schedule. Confirming which runners will represent which club in official entries, whether any local fundraising pages or events are underway, and final start-day arrangements would clarify how neighbors can provide practical support and how local institutions might accommodate pre-dawn training absences. The Boston Marathon itself begins April 20, 2026, along the traditional Hopkinton-to-Boston route; Rockwall-area runners and clubs now shift into final preparations while the community watches and, in some cases, helps shoulder the logistical and civic responsibilities of supporting marathoners on the national stage.