BOSTON – If running the Boston Marathon is on your bucket list, consider checking it off – and helping raise money for the Red Cross in the process.

Applications are now open for the 2026 cohort of Team Red Cross. Selection for the team guarantees race entry to the 2026 Boston Marathon, presented by Bank of America. Runners also receive a Team Red Cross singlet, coaching and training programs designed by Coach Dan Fitzgerald of Heartbreak Hill Running Company, weekly organized runs along the course, entry into a runners-only Facebook group and advice and tools to help you meet your fundraising goals.

Even better, you can run lighter, knowing the money you fundraise will support the lifechanging mission of the American Red Cross, which starts here in Massachusetts and carries through to the rest of the country.

Between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025, the Red Cross of Massachusetts collected 112,709 blood products at almost 5700 blood drives around Massachusetts; responded to 721 disasters statewide, a majority of them home fires, assisting 1,822 households; trained 105,552 Massachusetts residents in lifesaving first aid, CPR and AED skills, helped 1,844 members of the military and their families with emergency contacts and provided more than 2.7 million pounds of healthy grocery items and produce to people living with food insecurity. Team Red Cross runners who are interested in getting hands on with the mission will be connected with Red Cross volunteer opportunities in every part of the Commonwealth.

If you’d like to learn more about the history and future of Team Red Cross, catch our team founder Karen Teller and alumni on the What Runs a Run YouTube channel.