There are 32,500 people racing in the 2017 Boston Marathon. Among them are 13 people from the Tri-Town area.

Dr. Jason Reynolds and Karen Coucci, from Marion and Mattapoisett respectively are among that group.

26189 - Dr. Jason Reynolds

Marion resident Dr. Jason Reynolds is running the Boston Marathon to raise money for Boston Children's Hospital.

Reynolds only took up running at age 47, looking to keep in good health. He found he liked the running, and later completed the New Bedford Half-Marathon to raise funds and awareness for his father-in-law, who had fallen ill and needed a liver transplant.

The Boston Marathon is his first full marathon, but he isn't worried. "As long as the weather's cool and not rainy, I'm all ready," he said. Current weather forecasts for Monday expect a sunny day with mild temperatures.

Reynolds has had to fit practice time in with his day job - pediatrician. A physician at Wareham Pediatrics, Reynolds was recently honored as Bristol South District Medical Society's 2017 Community Clinician of the Year.

Reynolds looks forward to the general atmosphere of the race - the 26.2 mile course is fully lined with cheering spectators. "It will be exciting to have my family there cheering me on," he said.

His favorite part of the event? The $7,500 of funds that he raised for the Boston Children's Hospital. Reynolds is part of the Boston Children's Miles for Miracles team, which is given several slots in the marathon in order to fund-raise for medical causes.

Reynolds only learned that he had been tapped for the team in October of 2016, months after he'd taken up running, and on the heels of his fundraising successes at the New Bedford Half Marathon and the Boston Athletics Association Half Marathon.

"It's a great way to combine my love of running with my support of Boston Children's," Reynolds said.

22298 - Karen Coucci

Karen Coucci of Mattapoisett is running her fourth Boston Marathon on Monday.

She ran her first New Bedford Half Marathon in honor of her brother, who passed away several years ago. As she trained, though, she found she loved running.  After that, she decided a run in the Boston Marathon was in order.

So she ran the Marathon - every year for the last 3 years in fact. Not even illness could keep her down. She ran the 2016 marathon bogged down by the flu. "It wasn't my best time, but I finished," she noted.

Coucci explained that qualifications for the race are a difficult thing. "Qualification times are based on age and gender," she said, "so you need to have at least that time."

However, there are thousands of people looking to run in the Boston Marathon every year. Because runners are selected based on their speed, those who can run at least 7 minutes faster than qualification speed are often the people who actually get a bib number, according to Coucci. "There are just so many of us looking to race, and relatively few spots!"

To prepare for the race, Coucci runs anywhere from 55 to 60 miles per week. She generally runs at either 5 a.m. or 5 p.m., and belongs to the Greater New Bedford Running Club.

Along with many other members of the club, she runs for Team Owen. Team Owen, based out of the New Bedford, fundraises for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a wasting disease particularly lethal to young children and infants. The team runs in honor of Owen Simmons, an infant who died in 2009 of SMA.

Coucci says she has no immediate goals for the Marathon except to "run happy". She did state that she looks forward to the atmosphere of the race. "The crowds are amazing, with everyone cheering you on - miles 24 to 26 are incredible."

She's most excited to see one particular sight though. Her family has always awaited her just ahead of the finish line on Boylston Street. "The accomplishment is wonderful, but I can't wait to see them."