Sometimes they sing. Other times they talk about life, work, and other races. Still others, they are quiet, letting the rhythm of running take over.
Lisa Thompson and Alexi Pappas spend a lot of time running together.
Last Monday, for the fourth time, Thompson, a visually impaired runner from Houston, Texas, and Pappas, a 2016 Olympian for Greece who serves as her guide, toed the line of the Boston Marathon together. And for the eighth time, Thompson won the women’s T13 division for visually impaired athletes, running a time of 3:42:01. It was her fifth marathon in eight months, and three of them were with Pappas.
“The feeling of crossing the finish line is exhilarating and absolutely never gets old,” Thompson, who works in real estate and operates a bed and breakfast, wrote in an email interview after the race.
This year’s race was Thompson’s 13th time running the iconic marathon, which travels 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston through famously undulating pavement and endlessly enthusiastic crowds.
“The first six miles, mostly downhill, are fast and quad-crushing,” said Thompson, who has no sight in her left eye, low vision in her right, and no depth perception or peripheral vision. “There is a delicate balance of how hard to go down versus how much to hold back. The suffering on the Newton hills can be epic if the first few miles of Boston are mismanaged. Thanks to Alexi, those miles we held back just the right amount. I did a big training block, and we ran up those hills with more ease than many of my past years. It’s really a thrill to get over Heartbreak [Hill]. The next five miles are filled with cheering fans and some good downhills.”
Lisa Thompson (left) and her guide, Alexi Pappas, on the way to winning the T13 visually impaired category at the 2025 Boston Marathon. Photo courtesy of Merrell.
The Perfect Team
To guide her every step of the way was Pappas, a Merrell athlete and Los Angeles, California-based runner and filmmaker who holds the Greek national record in the 10,000 meters, set at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
“I wanted to be a part of the running world in a different way — so I reached out to a nonprofit called Team with a Vision and asked if they needed any support for the Boston Marathon,” Pappas said in an email interview before the race. “They had several male runners needing guides and one female, Lisa. Lisa frequently had male guides prior, and we were both excited to team up. We met for the first time at that race, four Boston Marathons ago. And the rest is history! We have evolved how we work together a lot.”
“Alexi and I have become a well-oiled machine,” Thompson said. “We are better together.”
They work together through a system of constant communication and inspiration. Pappas, who runs on her left side, guides Thompson via a tether strapped to their hands.
“We use tension in the tether between us to communicate,” Pappas said. “Lisa knows how it’s supposed to feel — if she doesn’t feel any tension, she moves farther from me, meaning the road might be curving in her direction and then if she feels too much tension, she comes closer to me. I also sometimes use my voice to communicate direction and also terrain — like ‘hill coming up!’ And I sometimes grab her hand to get over rough terrain like train tracks. I am responsible for paying attention to pace, her completion, and her fueling needs too. Plus, I’m like an audiobook, describing what she cannot see! It’s a beautiful collaboration.”
And a successful one, too. Pappas believes the pair works so well together because they’ve developed trust and look out for each other, as she put it, “holistically.” They know what works and what doesn’t and have evolved in their approach to the race and its buildup. They ran the 5k on Saturday ahead of the marathon to, as Pappas said, “shake off any cobwebs and gently ease into a big race weekend.”
“What makes us work so well together is that we have similar core beliefs about being kind to everyone and that you should also care for yourself and others and be proud of yourself,” Thompson said.
Getting it Done
Thompson, who runs with a group called the Bayou City Road Runners in Houston, said she put in a bigger training block than she usually does, sometimes waking up at 3:30 a.m. to run hills to prepare for Boston.
“This year, I was determined to win,” she said.
Because Thompson and Pappas have different lives in different cities, they don’t run with each other outside of races. “It’s very special when we come together for race day,” Pappas said. They use the three-plus hours on marathon Monday to catch up on anything that’s happened in the year between their last race.
“We catch up on life, talk about what we’re grateful for, and yes, definitely we go deep!” Pappas said. “Mainly, it’s up to me to assess what kind of communication is most helpful for Lisa having fun, racing hard, and adapting to the ever-changing environment and feelings that come with a marathon.”
But for the final six or so miles, they’re mostly quiet.
“In that final 10k we do not talk much,” Thompson said. “The crowds are roaring, and we both know it is time to knuckle down and get it done. It never gets old to finish Boston. The race is hard, and you may question your sanity at times, but the finish erases that memory and makes it all worth it. My mom said if you cannot build castles in the air, you cannot build them anywhere. She meant dream big. The journey and all the training up to the marathon create lasting friendships.”
Call for Comments
Were you following the Boston Marathon? Were there any other athlete stories you found inspiring?
