Former XC champ completes Boston Marathon

For The Madera Tribune

Madera Rebeldes Club runners Isai Orea and Miguel Gonzalez show off their bib numbers before completing the historic Boston Marathon in April.

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Madera’s Isai Orea recently completed the Boston Marathon, and came away with a personal record while moving up more than 400 places than was anticipated. 

Orea, a 2008 Madera High School graduate, who was a runner-up in the Central Section Cross Country Championship and won three team Valley Titles, completed the Boston Marathon course with a personal record of 2 hours, 37 minutes, 34 seconds in April.

“My goal was a sub 2:35, but I didn’t reach my goal,” he said. “The thing about Boston is when you get your bib number, it shows how fast of a runner you are. My bib was 1290, so I was the 1,290th fastest runner entered. I finished 891st.”

Orea qualified for the Boston Marathon with a sixth place finish at the Mountains to Beach Marathon in Ventura County. 

“I had to run 2 hours, 55 minutes for my age group. The Boston Athletic Association cuts off an addition five minutes to that time if I really wanted to be accepted,” he said. “The time comes out later on, so you don’t know what you have to run. I ran 2:38:47. I was almost certain I was going.”

Orea recently began running again after a 13-year lay-off. He did a half-marathon in January 2024, and decided to keep going. 

“I told myself that I worked too hard to get myself in shape to get out of shape. I got into marathon running, ever since,” he said. 

For Orea, Boston was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

“For all the videos you see online, it’s better than that. It’s beyond that,” he said. “It’s a tough course. The people around the course give you that second burst of experience. It’s a roller coaster. There’s a lot of hills with almost 1,000 feet of elevation gain. You have to remain focused and disciplined to try your best.”

There were 29,000 runners entered, and Orea finished in the top three percent. 

Orea hopes to continue running, and has a bucket list. 

“My goal is to do the seven marathon majors — Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin, London, Tokyo and Sydney,” he said. “This was all self-funded. If anyone is willing to donate or sponsor our club, contact me.”

In addition to Orea, Miguel Gonzalez, a Madera teacher, also ran the Boston Marathon as a member of the Rebeldes Running Club out of Madera.

When Orea finished, he had to find his family and younger brother. 

“It took me a while to find them after all the barricades,” he said. “There were emotions before, during and after. All the hard work and sacrifice I did paid off. I’m lucky, fortunate and blessed to be able to do it. It also takes a little bit of talent.”

In addition to his family, Orea received plenty of emotional support across the country in Madera with his Rebeldes Club members. 

“It’s a emotional feeling watching him run,” said Rebeldes Club President Sandra Mendoza. “We, as a team, were locked in as a team watching him on TV. We were pacing him. At every marker, we were communicating with each other. When he finished the race, we were emotional and relieved. The work and sacrifice he made motivated us to do more.

“Because of him, we are out there running. We want to be like him, and he helps us be better runners. Isai is so humble. He won’t give himself kudos. He’s so inspirational and we love him.”

Now, Orea will shift his focus to the to the 12-Hour Takeover, Madera Ultra Race, sponsored by his running club, Rebeldes, and Replenished. 

The Takeover will be May 23 from 6 a.m.-6 p.m. at Lions Town and Country Park. 

“I want to get into ultra-marathon running,” Orea said.

Orea plans to do 50 miles in about six and a half hours at the event. 

“We’re inviting the community to come out to challenge themselves to run. It’s a mile loop around the park. It’s a free event,” said Mendoza. “We have the event posted on our Instagram @rebeldes_madera_running_club.”

Runners fill out a registration form and a insurance waiver and they are good to go. 

“Some people will not be able to do run for 12 hours,” Mendoza said. “They can run a 5K or a 10K, or just two hours, it’s fine. We encourage them to come out and run. We want to help those who want to those other events. It’s open to those who want to just run a few miles. We want people to see the magic happen with Isai trying to run 50 miles.

“We’re going to have cheer and aid stations. We will feed them. We are taking donations for water, Gatorade, granola bars and stuff like that for these people that will be running for 12 hours.”

Mendoza hopes to get more running clubs to participate, but mainly, she just wants the community to come out a run. 

“The first 20 people that complete a marathon will get a medal,” she said. “We’re challenging all the other run clubs to come out here.”