Gregory Baxter has run enough miles to know that the finish line is not the point.
For the 43-year-old from Laguna Niguel, California, the real moment comes earlier — when he steps into the corrals in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, and the 26.2-mile journey to Boston is still entirely ahead of him. That moment, he says, is where the emotion lives.
“It isn’t even about the finish line,” Baxter said to Boston.com. “For me, it is the starting line — the physical representation of the entire process coming through to fruition. That is where the emotion of it all comes for me.”
Baxter will toe that line at the 2026 Boston Marathon as part of the Boston.com “Why I’m Running” series, which spotlights athletes and the personal stories that carry them down the course each April.
His story carries particular weight.
A Career Built Around Service
After years as a career Marine officer, Baxter transitioned into mental health work and now counsels clients in California. The two careers, he says, are not as different as they might seem. Both ask something of the person doing them. Both require showing up even when the outcome is uncertain.
Running, he has found, works the same way.
“Over the last couple of years, the running process has become a metaphor for life: the ideal, the goal, the plan, the struggle, the highs, the lows, the results, and the repeat,” Baxter said.
That framing will resonate with any runner who has trained through a cold January, missed a long run, adjusted a goal time, and kept going anyway. The marathon does not reward only the fast. It rewards the persistent.
Racing for Semper Fi & America’s Fund
Baxter is running in support of Semper Fi & America’s Fund, a nonprofit that provides direct financial assistance and lifetime support programs to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill, and injured service members and veterans, as well as their families.
Since its founding in 2004, the organization has delivered more than $350 million in assistance to over 30,000 individuals across all branches of the U.S. military.
For Baxter, the cause is personal. As someone who has moved through both worlds — military service and mental health care — he understands the gap that often exists between what veterans need and what they can access.
“I am personally and professionally humbled to see the level of care and assistance Semper Fi & America’s Fund provides to our service men and women and their families,” he said. “By supporting this cause, I aim to raise awareness and funds that will make a real difference in the lives of those who have sacrificed so much for our country.”
The Gift His Son Will Witness
There is one more reason Baxter laces up. His son will be watching.
That detail says something about what drives many marathon runners that no finish-time or fundraising total can fully capture. The race is partly proof — proof to the people who matter most that hard things are worth attempting.
“The greatest gift of it all,” Baxter said. “My son gets to witness it.”
The Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 21, 2026. It draws roughly 30,000 runners each year and is widely considered the most prestigious road race in the world. For Baxter, the prestige is secondary. What matters is standing at the start, knowing the months of training that brought him there, and taking the first step forward.
