80-Year-Old Vietnam Veteran William Alvarez Crosses Finish Line in His Fourth Boston Marathon

On Patriots' Day, April 20, 2026, 80-year-old William Alvarez crossed the Boston Marathon finish line for the fourth time. The Boston Globe profiled the Vietnam veteran the next day, describing how he steps onto the course every spring carrying memories that would crush most people. In 1972, while scouting jungle near Da Nang with the 101st Airborne Division, Alvarez stepped on a land mine. He woke up in Honolulu with a chaplain reading him last rites and both of his legs gone.

Decades later, marathoning became Alvarez's outlet for chronic pain and PTSD. He runs as part of Achilles International's Freedom Team, which pairs combat-wounded veterans with volunteer guides for endurance events. He has now completed roughly 30 marathons and counting. "Everything hurts," he told the Globe, "but on Marathon Monday I feel free."

“The Boston Globe profiled the Vietnam veteran the next day, describing how he steps onto the course every spring carrying memories that would crush most people.”

Alvarez was one of about 30,000 runners on the 26.2-mile course from Hopkinton to Copley Square. The 130th edition of the race was won by Kenya's John Korir, who set a course record, and by Sharon Lokedi, who repeated as women's champion. But many of the most powerful stories on Marathon Monday belong not to the elites, but to people like Alvarez who use the race to redefine what is possible.

His story resonates beyond running. Achilles International serves more than 150 chapters worldwide and trains thousands of athletes with disabilities every year. Alvarez's finish is a reminder that endurance is partly mileage, partly mind, and partly the community that meets you on the course. As he often tells younger veterans before a race: keep moving, and the finish line will come.