Fox Lane’s Annabel Silbersher, 18, Makes History as Youngest Boston Marathon Runner
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By Amalia Wompa
What started as a weekend hobby during the pandemic turned into history for Annabel Silbersher — who, just one day after her 18th birthday, became the youngest runner at the 2025 Boston Marathon on April 21.
The Fox Lane High School senior called finishing the race one of the most exhilarating moments of her life.
“Crossing that finish line was one of the greatest feelings ever,” she said of the 129th annual Boston Marathon.
Silbersher trained for months while balancing the demands of her senior year, following a strict weekly regimen of midweek runs between five and eight miles, and long weekend runs stretching up to 20 miles. Starting her marathon preparation in November, she trained consistently until race day – which was also her very first race ever.
Alongside a team of five participants fundraising for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, Silbersher helped raise $100,000 for paralysis research and patient care. She individually raised more than $20,000 through her network and social media.
The team’s cause was personal to Silbersher, who was inspired after watching Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story – a documentary chronicling the life of New York native and actor Christopher Reeve, who became paralyzed from the neck down after a horseback riding accident. Famous for his breakthrough role in the 1978 film Superman and its sequels, Reeve went on to start the foundation and advocate for curing paralysis.
With an avid interest in kinesiology, the film only deepened Silbersher’s passion for the field. She had already completed an independent study on performance nutrition during high school and plans to continue her studies in college, focusing on either kinesiology or biomechanical engineering – and, of course, continuing to run.
Silbersher initially started running during the pandemic with her dad, expressing that she was always exposed to sports from a young age. Despite her accomplishments, she was actually never on a cross country or track team in high school.
“The most I’d ever run during quarantine was 8 and a half miles,” she said. “I just continued it as a hobby and would run on the weekends.”
Her dad, Mark Silbersher, said it was incredible to watch his daughter turn her “hobby” into something she approaches with the same seriousness as her academics.
“It was an amazing experience and I’m just really proud of her,” he said. “She showed amazing discipline and great determination.”
Silbersher began officially training for the Boston Marathon in November, following a strict regimen of running five to eight miles three to four times a week, and up to 20 miles on weekends. Even with a busy senior year schedule, she stayed committed.
Most people would think the toughest part of running a marathon is the physical training. For Silbersher, balancing schoolwork and fundraising was the real challenge.
“Some runs may have been difficult, but I loved every step of the process,” she said.
Looking ahead, Silbersher hopes to become a “Six Star Finisher” by completing all six of the major world marathons: Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York.
She plans to continue running in college and through future chapters of her life.
When asked if she was ever intimidated by being so young during the marathon, Silbersher shrugged it off: “It didn’t really cross my mind.”
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