Ruby Nisenbaum did not run before she watched the 2025 Boston Marathon from the sidelines. This year, she’ll be on the starting line. 

The path to 26.2 miles meant 4:30 a.m. wake-ups, raising $12,000 in donations for Massachusetts General Hospital and, ultimately, finding what she calls a “missing piece” in her life. For most, it would be absurd. But for anyone who knows the second-year human services and psychology combined major, it feels like destiny. 

“Like, this is Ruby. This makes sense,” said her close friend and roommate Giada Coviello, a second-year political science and business administration combined major. 

Nisenbaum logged her first run in April 2025, shortly after watching the marathon live. She completed one mile, although it was spent mostly walking. “I was like, ‘God, like I hate this, like it’s so bad,’” she said. 

Instead of quitting, she downloaded a “Couch to 5K” app and committed to running three days a week. To begin, she alternated between walking and running and aimed for time, not miles. She built up endurance quickly — a few weeks after her first run, she completed a 5K in about 30 minutes. 

“I feel like once you get past a certain point, you just can keep going,” Nisenbaum said. 

In June, she signed up for the Boston Athletic Association’s November half marathon. She trained through the summer, and when she crossed the finish line in Dorchester, it validated everything she loved about the sport. 

Nisenbaum has struggled with mental health most of her life, and even with medication, she felt she needed something more. Running gave her a chance to clear her mind. 

“It allows me to just take a minute for myself and take a breather, which sometimes I forget to do because with my anxiety, it makes my head spin all the time,” she said. 

Coming off the high from the half marathon, she applied to run the Boston Marathon for Massachusetts General Hospital. She hadn’t told anyone besides her parents, but it felt like a natural fit. At the time, she had just committed to a spring position at the hospital as a signature fundraising events co-op and has used the hospital’s services her whole life as a Massachusetts native.

She applied in the morning, and a few short hours later it was official: Nisenbaum would run the Boston Marathon. 

“I was kind of like, ‘Holy crap.’ I did not expect this,” she said. 

Since then, it’s been nonstop training. Being on co-op full-time, a part of Northeastern’s social media team and an active member of Sigma Kappa, she tries to extend the hours of her day whenever possible. 

Nisenbaum starts her days around 4:30 a.m. and has followed a strict training plan during the semester. In the winter months, she was doing up to 17 miles on a treadmill at the YMCA or Marino Recreation Center.

“She’s made so many sacrifices throughout this process,” Coviello said. “You couldn’t even notice it, because she’s still always there for her friends. She’s just amazing.” 

As for fundraising, before the marathon, Nisenbaum already exceeded her goal of $12,000 through organizing 5Ks, raffles and selling the miles she runs. The donations will go to support the hospital’s emergency department and pediatric cancer wing. The emergency department, she said, is particularly important to her as it serves those experiencing mental health crises.

“The fact that she’s actually passionate about what she’s raising the money for has helped,” said her older sister, Olivia Nisenbaum, a financial analyst at TJX Companies. “I feel like she’s the kind of person that when she cares about something, she doesn’t give up on it.”

As for Monday, Nisenbaum will have no shortage of support. By her sister’s estimate, there will be more than 30 people, including hometown and college friends, as well as family, coming out to cheer her on. 

Coviello thinks there might be more. “I’m sure there’ll be a lot of other people supporting her as well that I don’t even know,” she said.

They plan to space out along the course, so Nisenbaum will always have someone to cheer her on. 

“In every aspect of her life, she’s always there to show up for other people,” Coviello said. “She’s showing up for herself through running, and we’re all here to support her and love her through everything.”