Jen Smith grew up watching the Boston Marathon and has run other long-distance races, but this will be her first time running the iconic race.

Jen Smith will run the 2024 Boston Marathon to benefit the Friends of Hopkinton.

The mission of the local civic organization is “to provide community activities that encourage and support town spirit, enthusiasm and pride.” It holds annual family-friendly events that are open to the public.

Smith, a nurse anesthetist, said a patient got her connected with Friends of Hopkinton (friendsofhopkinton.org).

“Someone told her I was a runner, and she asked if I’d ever thought of running Boston,” Smith relayed. “I said, ‘Yeah, but the $10,000 price tag for charity runners is kind of daunting.’ She said Friends usually gets a bib, and would I be interested? And I said, ‘Of course!’ ”

A runner for more than 20 years, Smith started doing half-marathons in 2008. Her first full marathon was Chicago in 2022. The past two years, she also ran the Tough Ruck — a marathon-distance race in which participants run wearing a ruck sack to honor our nation’s fallen service members. (“If you don’t get a tear in your eye during the opening ceremony, you’re heartless,” she declared.)

This will be her fourth full marathon, and first at Boston — or at least, the first in which she will race. The Medway resident grew up in Bellingham and has many fond memories of cheering on runners from across the reservoir.

“Ever since I was a little kid, my whole family would set up camp in Framingham and pass out oranges and water to the runners,” she recalled.

“My grandfather would bring a generator and set up a little black-and-white rabbit-eared TV so we could watch them cross the finish line — that was our ‘streaming’ back then.”

Smith wasn’t an athlete in high school, but she enjoyed running. She said she “took to organized races because the energy was kind of electric — it was a lot of fun running with other people.

“As the years went on, I started to run with friends, and we’d sign up for races together. We wouldn’t necessarily run together, but we’d celebrate together at the end. So the camaraderie was fun.”

In fact, she enjoyed the experience so much, her husband was prompted to join her for Chicago in 2023.

“I guess I made it look like so much fun the year before — and I had a blast — so it convinced him he wanted to do it, too,” she said with a laugh.

“I think after this I might take a break from the intensity of marathon training … but who knows? I might just go and sign up for another one,” she added.

Smith said she’s honored to participate in Boston and to run for a local organization that is making an impact on Hopkinton’s residents. Her husband, son and daughter will be cheering her on, as she used to do with her grandfather.

She hopes her contribution moves others to get involved with the race.

“The Boston Marathon is not just a race, but a symbol of strength, determination and resilience,” she wrote on her fundraising page. “By crossing the finish line, I aim to inspire others to believe in their own abilities and to show that together, we can create positive change.”