Boston, Tuesday
A shattered course record, a monster move in the Newton Hills by a bib-less little brother and a sunrise surprise from a Boston legend: the 129th Boston Marathon presented by Bank of America will go down as a day of speed, siblings and sentiment.
Speed:
Sharon Lokedi of Kenya held off a late move by two-time defending champion Hellen Obiri to break the tape in two hours, 17 minutes and 22 seconds, obliterating the course record of 2:19:59 set in 2014.
Runner-up Obiri (2:17:41) and third-place finisher Yalemzerf Yehualaw of Ethiopia (2:18:06) both finished under the old record.
Siblings:
Kenya’s John Korir, whose brother Wesley won here in 2012, laid waste to a pack of six when he took off at 20 miles, winning in 2:04:45 – the second-fastest winning time in race history.
Sentiment:
2018 champion Des Linden, via Instagram and a full-page ad in the Boston Globe, announced on race morning that this would be her last professional marathon.
The 41-year-old went on to finish in 2:26:19, her fastest time in eight years, to win the master’s division and finish 17th among all pro women.
How it unfolded
The day began with a nod to the 250th anniversary of Patriots’ Day, as Paul Revere and the National Lancers proclaimed the runners were coming, making their way down course from Hopkinton. They were quickly followed by a legendary tandem serving as Grand Marshals, 1975 champions Bob Hall and Bill Rodgers.
Soon after, in the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug of Switzerland took an early lead over Daniel Romanchuk of the U.S., going on to cross the line in 1:21:34 for his eighth win here. Romanchuk, a two-time Boston champion, would finish second in 1:25:58, with Jetze Plat of the Netherlands third in 1:30:16.
Hug was pleased that his victory came on the 50th anniversary of Bob Hall becoming the race’s first official wheelchair finisher,
“One of my first racing chairs was a Hall chair,” said Hug, who over the weekend got to meet the pioneer who went on to design them.
For the women, American Susannah Scaroni fell behind Eden Rainbow-Cooper of Great Britain and Manuela Schär and Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland early, playing catch-up until Mile 5.
The quartet worked together for about 10 miles until Scaroni – a strong climber – surged just before the Newton Hills to her second Boston victory, in 1:35:20. In her debut here, 2024 Paralympic gold medalist Debrunner was second, in 1:37:26, with four-time Boston champion Schär third in 1:39:18.
“There was that tiny bit of worry,” said Scaroni, about making up that early deficit. “I had to tell myself, ‘I can do this, I can do this.’”
Korir’s fall at the start
Korir’s day almost ended in the early meters of the race, when he fell after being clipped from behind.
“What came to my mind was, should I stay down, or should I wake up and go? Something told me to wake up and go, and that everything would be OK,” he said.
After tucking his detached race bib – which included his precious timing chip – into his shorts, Korir stuck with the lead pack until turning on the turbos near the top of Heartbreak Hill to leave everyone trying to close the sudden gap behind.
“We planned that, with my coach and my brother and everyone in my crew,” said the 29-year-old, who last fall won the Bank of America Chicago Marathon but finished fourth and ninth here in his previous two attempts.
“We said that at 20 miles I will try and make the move. And I tried, and it worked well.”
In that lead pack all the way was Conner Mantz, who helped blast the pack to a 4:32 first mile, setting the stage for a fast race.
For his efforts, the man who broke the American record in the half marathon a few months ago came within one spot of the podium after a three-way sprint down Boylston against runner-up Alphonce Felix Simbu of Tanzania (2:05:04), third place CyBrian Kotut of Kenya (2:05:04).
Second-fastest American
Mantz’s time of 2:05:08 was the second-fastest time by an American in race history.
“Getting outkicked for the last 300 meters is a little bitter, but it was still probably my best race I’ve had. And so I was very happy about that.”
For Lokedi, it was a role reversal from last year, when Obiri went on to victory after making a decisive move with one mile to go. Obiri tried exactly the same thing this year, but Lokedi was ready, willing and able to fend her off.
“I was like, ‘I’m not going to let her take it today from me, so I just wanted to fight as hard as I could,” said the 31-year-old Kenyan, who won the 2022 TCS New York City Marathon in her debut at the distance.
“I’m glad that we had to tough it out together.”
Returning to Boston as the two-time defending champion, all eyes were on Obiri and whether she would do what only four women had before her: win three consecutive titles in Boston.
Obiri chasing history
Coming into the race, Obiri was confident and eager to make history, stating: “My mindset is to try my best to win and create history.”
Despite not having the fastest marathon PB, Obiri was amongst the favorites, given her recent victories and experience on the track and road. With no pacers allowed and a “quad killing” course with rolling hills, 389 meters of descent, and 248 metres of ascent, a unique running skillset would be required to emerge victorious.
As expected, Obiri sat with the elite women’s pack throughout the race. An initial breakaway group of five established themselves around the halfway mark, taking the cruel course in their stride.
The group was reduced to four about 10 kilometres later, with Obiri looking strong, alongside fellow Kenyan Lokedi, Beriso, and Yalemzerf Yehualaw (Ethiopia).
With a mile to go, Lokedi and Obiri shook off Yehualaw and were locked in a battle for the title.
Lokedi builds lead
Ahead of the final descent and ascent, Lokedi managed to build a 25-metre lead and ultimately win the title in a time of 2:17.20, setting a new Boston course record.
Obiri followed 21 seconds later, well within the old Boston course record and knocking nearly four minutes off her previous PB, which stood at 02:21.38.
“I came here to win, and while I didn’t quite manage to do that today, I’m still very happy with my performance. Three consecutive podiums in Boston is special, but it’s going to hurt for a bit that I couldn’t defend my title here today. I want to congratulate Sharon Lokedi on her incredible race today,” Obiri reacted.
Obiri’s coach, Dathan Ritzenhein, watched and cheered on from the sidelines, embracing the Kenyan at the finish line.
“Three marathons in Boston, three podiums. What Hellen has achieved in her short marathon career so far is simply incredible and deserves to be celebrated.
“Hellen was already incredibly accomplished before she ever ran a marathon. Seeing how she has adapted to this discipline and using all she has learned from cross-country and the track is remarkable. I’m so proud to be her coach and have her on my team.”
Running Royalty
Obiri is one of the most decorated runners in history.
Being the only female athlete to win a world title in cross country, and on the indoor and outdoor track.
She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5000m distance and won the bronze medal in the marathon at the 2024 Olympic Games.
Obiri moved to Boulder, Colorado, to train under Dathan Ritzenhein and as part of the On Athletic Club in 2022 before debuting in the marathon distance in New York.
A race that was far from perfect, but prepared Obiri for an illustrious marathon career, including two titles in Boston and one in New York.
Leading results from the 129th Boston Marathon on Monday:
Women’s Elite:
1. Sharon Lokedi (KEN) — 2:17:22
2. Hellen Obiri (KEN) — 2:17:41
3. Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH) — 2:18:06
4. Irine Cheptai (KEN) — 2:21:32
5. Amane Beriso (ETH) — 2:21:58
6. Calli Thackery (GBR) — 2:22:38
7. Jess McClain (USA) — 2:22:43
8. Annie Frisbie (USA) — 2:23:21
9. Stacy Ndiwa (KEN) — 2:23:29
10. Tsige Haileslase (ETH) — 2:23:43
13. Emma Bates (USA) — 2:25:10
16. Dakotah Popehn (USA) — 2:26:09
17. Des Linden (USA) — 2:26:19
18. Sara Hall (USA) — 2:26:32
Men Elite:
1. John Korir (KEN) — 2:04:45
2. Alphonce Simbu (TAN) — 2:05:04
3. Cybrian Kotut (KEN) — 2:05:54
4. Conner Mantz (USA) — 2:05:08
5. Muktar Edris (ETH) — 2:05:59
6. Rory Linkletter (CAN) — 2:07:02
7. Clayton Young (USA) — 2:07:04
8. Tebello Ramakongoana (LES) — 2:07:19
9. Daniel Mateiko (KEN) — 2:07:52
10. Ryan Ford (USA) — 2:08:00
14. C.J. Albertson (USA) — 2:10:16
DNF. Evans Chebet (KEN)
DNF. Sisay Lemma (ETH)
In the Para Athletics Divisions, the following champions were crowned:
- T11/T12 (Vision impairment) – Joyce Cron, 4:09:08 / Wajdi Boukhili, 2:25:12
- T13 (Vision impairment) – Lisa Thompson, 3:42:01 / Andrew Thorsen, 2:47:57
- T20 (Intellectual impairment) – Montana Whiteley, 3:51:43 / Thomas Cantara, 2:37:35
- T35-T38 (Coordination impairment) – Cristina Burbach, 3:46:05 / Joseph Drake, 4:11:17
- T45/T46 (Upper-limb impairment) – Lisa Maciel, 4:06:19 / Atsbha Gebremeskel, 2:57:11
- T61/T63/T43 (Lower-limb impairment) – Meghan Bradshaw, 3:58:15 / Richard Whitehead, 2:56:09
- T62/T64; T42/T44 (Lower-limb impairment) – Kelly Bruno, 3:17:56 / Marko Cheseto Lemtukei, 2:46:24.
(Reporting by B.A.A., Elliot Stares)
This update is generally attributed to Pura Vida’s Content team. Feel free to shared any feedback or or relevant info incase of inaccuracies.
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