Marathon running can combine an individual athletic goal with support for another runner. Samantha Judge has completed the New York City Marathon on multiple occasions and served as Adrienne Bunn’s guide at the 2026 Boston Marathon.
Samantha Judge’s New York City Marathon Participation
Preparing for a marathon can involve fitting regular runs around work, family, and other commitments. Runners may plan routes of different lengths, allow time for rest, and decide where longer outings will fit into their week. Preparation can also include trying the clothing and shoes intended for race day, reviewing event instructions, and checking arrangements for reaching the start.
For someone traveling to take part, accommodation and transport become part of that planning. These practical decisions accompany the running itself and can begin well before the event.
At the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, Samantha Judge finished in 3:31:44. The 26.2-mile race follows a course through all five boroughs, beginning on Staten Island and finishing in Manhattan’s Central Park. The event attracts thousands of runners from around the world, alongside participants from New York. Along the way, runners cross bridges, pass through residential neighborhoods and busy avenues, and encounter spectators gathered along much of the route.
The event also brings charitable organizations into that public setting. Runners may work with nonprofits that organize participation or fundraising, while others may simply choose to support a cause through their running. Such involvement can also give organizations an opportunity to reach people who might first encounter their work through a sporting event. In 2023, Samantha Judge ran in support of KultureCity, which works to improve access to public experiences for people with sensory needs and invisible disabilities.
Participants themselves have different needs. Some athletes run independently, while others may choose to be accompanied on the course because of a vision impairment, an intellectual or physical disability, or autism. Accompanying runners can offer assistance without replacing the athlete’s own effort, a role that later became part of Samantha Judge’s marathon experience.
Charitable Participation and Supporting Other Marathon Runners
Entry requirements can vary between marathons. Some offer places through qualifying times, entry drawings, charity programs, or other routes. Depending on the event and entry route, runners may need to submit a previous race result, apply during a registration window, or commit to fundraising for a participating organization.
Support during a marathon can take several forms, some of them unrelated to fundraising. Volunteers may help with services available to the field as a whole, while an accompanying runner focuses on one athlete who has chosen to race with support. That arrangement means sharing the distance and remaining available when assistance is wanted, rather than concentrating entirely on an individual result.
For an athlete who chooses to race with someone alongside them, assistance can begin before the event, when the pair become familiar with one another’s communication preferences. Athletes and their accompanying runners may train together before race day. During the race, an accompanying runner may provide verbal cues such as calling out turns, helping with orientation among other participants or offering assistance at water stations when requested.
Throughout a long race, an accompanying runner may spend stretches simply staying close enough to communicate. Other stretches might call for clearer directions or a change in how the pair communicate.
Depending on the event’s arrangements, athletes may select an accompanying runner to provide support at their chosen pace. At the 2026 Boston Marathon, Samantha Judge accompanied Adrienne Bunn, an accomplished endurance athlete with autism. An endurance athlete participates in sports requiring sustained physical effort over extended periods, such as distance running, cycling, swimming, or events that combine more than one discipline.
Samantha Judge’s Boston Marathon Role and Autism Inclusion
At this year’s Boston Marathon, Samantha Judge served as Adrienne Bunn’s guide, using her experience as a distance runner to help Bunn navigate the event. Rather than focusing solely on her own finishing time, she accompanied another athlete through the marathon as Bunn pursued her own goal.
Autism is a neurodevelopmental difference that can influence how a person communicates, processes information, and experiences their surroundings. It is described as a spectrum because the combination of characteristics varies widely from person to person. Some autistic people are especially sensitive to sounds, movement, or crowded places, while others may experience those surroundings differently.
Autistic people work, study, build relationships, and pursue hobbies and sports in many different ways. A diagnosis alone does not establish what activities someone enjoys or what they can accomplish. A marathon is one possible interest, with demands that vary between runners, from maintaining concentration over a long distance to spending hours in a changing and sometimes crowded environment.
As a board member of KultureCity, Samantha Judge supports work aimed at making public experiences more accessible. Her guide-running role brought that involvement onto the marathon course. Samantha Judge’s marathon participation has also supported fundraising and awareness for KultureCity, connecting her running with the nonprofit’s sensory inclusion work.
About Samantha Judge
Samantha Judge, formerly Samantha Bracksieck, is a California native and a kinesiology graduate of California State University, Fresno. She is based in New York, New York. Her graduate research examined throwing mechanics and potential ulnar collateral ligament injury susceptibility in baseball players. In 2017, the university recognized her work as the Outstanding Master’s Degree Project in Kinesiology. She has also completed multiple marathons, including the TCS New York City Marathon.
She serves on KultureCity’s Board of Directors and helped establish the permanent Aaron and Samantha Judge Sensory Room at Madison Square Garden. Her charitable involvement also includes the ALL RISE Foundation, whose work addresses children, education, character development, health and leadership. Further information is available through Samantha Judge’s official website.
