Entering Monday’s Boston Marathon, the prevailing thought was that we’d see a memorable race. A record perhaps?
John Korir delivered, breezing to a 2:01:52 finish to set the course mark on the 130th running of the world’s oldest marathon.
His 2026 victory was his second straight in Boston, just like countrywoman Sharon Lokedi, who repeated as the women’s champion.
Marcel Hug won his fourth straight men’s wheelchair title and his ninth in 11 years, and Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women’s wheelchair race — her second victory in Boston.
The elite races kicked off a sunlit day along the 26.2-mile course winding from Hopkinton to Boylston Street.
Along the course, you could spot astronauts and former Bruins, barefooted runners and even a former United States president. There were funny signs — “No matter what,” one read, “you’re faster than the Green Line” — and touching moments as competitors carried their companions over the finish line.
Read on to re-live the excitement of the day. See full results here.
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What to read next about the Boston Marathon
- John Korir broke the men’s elite course record with a time of 02:01:52, winning his second consecutive Boston Marathon. Read more from John Powers.
- Sharon Lokedi went back-to-back, championing the women’s elite race with a time of 02:18:50. Read more from Emma Healy.
- Lokedi and Korir proved to be Marathon favorites in more ways than one. Read Chad Finn’s column from raceday here.
- Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race. It’s his fourth straight title and ninth in 11 years. He now has the second-most victories in the race’s history in any division. Great Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper won the women’s wheelchair race. Read more from Michael Silverman.
- Jess McClain was the top American woman to finish, coming in fifth. Read more from Kat Cornetta.
- See how notable runners — our local and national celebrities — did on Marathon Monday.
Boston Marathon 2026 updates
Go to BostonGlobe.com/Marathon
Cape Breton runners honor their hero on 100th anniversary of a stunning victory — 8:00 p.m.
By Matty Wasserman, Globe Correspondent
For the running community in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, completing the Boston Marathon is a lifelong aspiration.
One hundred years ago, Johnny Miles stunned the running world with his victory at the 1926 Boston Marathon, having raised funds from his neighbors to make the journey by train and competing in 99-cent shoes.
Members of the Cape Breton Road Runners Club have run the Boston Marathon for more than 40 years, and this year’s race was especially meaningful for the 14 Cape Bretoners who participated.
Many of the Cape Breton runners wore custom-designed singlets with Miles’s name and picture on the front, and they pridefully shouted his name as they ran the course.
“Johnny Miles is an icon, and someone who has inspired generations of great runners,” said Kathy Sparling, 62. “We’re a tight community. And his marathon win is a real huge inspiration for us, coming from a working class, mining and steel community.”
Zouhair Talbi sets new standard for American men — 7:30 p.m.
By Julian Benbow, Globe Staff
The question of what it will take for American long-distance runners to break through the ceiling that’s hovered over them for 15 years comes up every year, and in the week leading up to the 130th Boston Marathon, Zouhair Talbi once again considered it.
He didn’t just think about the year he was having, which started with the 2:05:45 he ran at the Houston Marathon in January and continued with the 59:41 he posted at the New York Half Marathon in March.
He thought about American runners as a whole, starting with the 2:04:43 Conner Mantz ran in October at the Chicago Marathon. Mantz, who finished fourth in Boston a year ago in 2:05:08, was considered one of the favorites this year until he withdrew with a sacral stress fracture.
Talbi picked up the torch Monday — and in his eyes, helped lift American distance running.
“This is what it’s going to take,” he said. “Everyone needs to push each other, everyone needs to be in the pack, everyone needs to push themselves, everyone needs to try to run fast times. I know Conner Mantz led the way with his 2:04, and I think that’s inspiring for us.”
The 2:03:45 it took Talbi to reach the finish line Monday on Boylston Street made him the fastest American to ever complete the race and earned him a fifth-place finish. Talbi broke Ryan Hall’s mark of 2:04.58 from 2011.
She put her life — and running — on hold after her wife’s injury. The Boston Marathon was a step forward. — 7:00 p.m.
By Emma Healy
Megan Smith crossed the Boston Marathon finish line on Boylston Street in 3 hours, 22 minutes, and 42 seconds on Monday — something that didn’t seem possible even a year ago.
Megan and her wife Lindsey Smith, who live in Alabama, were proud of their active lifestyles. Megan was an avid runner, and Lindsey a cyclist. They raced paddleboards together. But an accident in 2018 threw their lives into tumult.
Lindsey was working as a charge nurse at a dialysis clinic when she herniated a disc in her neck while helping a patient. Lindsey underwent a botched spine surgery that left her in a wheelchair for two and a half years, then another botched surgery that allowed her to walk again but compressed nerves in her neck and set her back once again.
Running in honor of those lost in American Airlines crash — 6:30 p.m.
By Kat Cornetta, Globe Correspondent
Newton’s Jing Tu has finished seven marathons, but despite living near the Boston Marathon route, he had not yet run it.
When Tu learned that The Skating Club of Boston planned to fundraise through the 130th Boston Marathon for scholarships honoring the club’s skaters, parents, and coaches lost in the January 2025 collision of American Airlines Flight 5342 and a military helicopter in Washington, DC, he felt an urge to run.
His young daughter, Iris, had thrived as a skater under Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, the parents of Olympian Maxim Naumov and Skating Club of Boston coaches who died in the crash.
“It gave me a reason to run,” said Tu.
So on Monday, Tu finished his eighth marathon in a personal best time: 3 hours, 10 minutes, 54 seconds. He raised more than $12,900 for the club’s Always Champions campaign, which has established two scholarships, three annual awards, and permanent memorial installations at their Norwood facility.
In the race’s hard parts, Tu felt the spirit of those the club lost — Shishkova, Vadim Naumov, Jinna and Jin Hee Han, and Spencer and Christine Lane – propelling him.
Video: The final two turns ‘can be a religious experience’ — 6:15 p.m.
By Olivia Yarvis, Globe Staff
By Emma Healy, Globe Staff
Sharon Lokedi knew she was speeding through the final miles of Monday’s Boston Marathon, but she had no way to know just how fast she was running.
Twenty minutes into the bus ride from Copley Square to Hopkinton, Lokedi realized she had left her watch on its charger in her hotel room.
A friend of her coach happened to be wearing a similar model and was willing to lend it to Lokedi, but the settings weren’t what she’s used to.
So between miles 21 and 25, as she chewed up the course at a sub five-minute clip, Lokedi glanced down at a watch on her wrist that didn’t belong to her — and she had no way of interpreting the pace.
“I knew I was going fast,” she said. “I just didn’t know how fast.”
It didn’t hinder her too much. With only her first name on her bib this year, an honor reserved for past winners, Lokedi turned in a repeat performance, defending her title in 2 hours, 18 minutes, and 51 seconds.
When there’s a lot of room between the winner of the Boston Marathon and the rest of the field, that usually means there’s not much room for surprises or suspense.
But Sharon Lokedi, the winner of the women’s elite race for the second straight year Monday, received a welcome bit of information when she connected with men’s elite winner John Korir just beyond the finish line.
In the immediate afterglow of her victory, she was giddy to learn that her fellow Kenyan hadn’t just repeated his win from last year, but shattered the 15-year-old course record.
“I saw him and I said, ‘You defended too?,”’ said the 32-year-old Lokedi, who finished in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 51 seconds, a little shy of her women’s course record of 2:17:22 set last year. “He said, ‘Yeah, with a course record.’ I was like, ‘Whaaat?’ ”
Upon hearing his news, she clapped her hands, patted her countryman on the shoulders, and said, “Good job! Good job!”
Hingham native runs the Marathon ... barefoot — 5:15 p.m.
By Cam Kerry, Globe Staff
Running a marathon is difficult as is. Running without socks or shoes makes for quite the sight.
Hingham native Terrence Concannon did exactly that Monday, finishing in 3:57:23, drawing attention across the course as he traversed it barefoot.
Concannon is social-media famous, posting under an account named TampaTerrence. He’s been featured in videos with former Patriot Rob Gronkowski, comedian Bert Kreischer, and social-media star and boxer Jake Paul.
So was Monday’s showing just a stunt? Not necessarily. He said he raised money for charity.
“The energy — insane. Shoutout to everybody that’s cheered me on. You can’t beat this, guys,” Concannon said in a video posted to his Instagram. “Special city, much love.”
Again, but this time with gravity — 5:00 p.m.
By AJ Traub, Globe Correspondent
This time, astronaut and Needham native Suni Williams ran the Boston Marathon on Earth.
She previously completed the 26.2 miles from the International Space Station on a treadmill.
“Marathons are always hard. Gravity is really hard. It was pretty tough,” she said. “I thought I was getting in pretty good shape but it’s hard. The winter was hard to work out.”
From Wellesley to “Heartbreak Hill” and beyond, cheers of support followed Williams, who appreciated the Needham showing; the town also has an elementary school named after her and she once handled a rivalry football game coin flip from space.
“It’s awesome,” she said. “The crowd is great. Boston is great. There were so many people on the course cheering. That makes it all worthwhile. You don’t have that in space.”
First a state champion hockey coach, now a Marathon finisher — 4:55 p.m.
By Mike Puzzanghera, Globe Correspondent
A month after leading Milton girls’ hockey to a state championship, Matt Lodi is also a Boston Marathon finisher.
“I kept saying if the team can win a state championship, I can finish 26.2,” Lodi said.
The Wildcats won the Division 2 title and finished 22-1-1 this winter. Lodi said a number of his players were out on the route to support him.
He hit his sub-five hour goal, finishing in 4:50:36.
Lodi is also an assistant for the Natick baseball team, out to a 5-1 start. He ran Monday on behalf of Natick Little League, which he is the executive director of.
A double Boston Marathon?! — 4:50 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
For some adventurous runners, taking on the Boston Marathon just once in a day isn’t enough.
In comes the Boston Double, back-to-back marathons that take participants from the finish line on Boylston Street to the start line in Hopkinton, and then in reverse.
David Desnoyers and several fellow members of the Trail Animals Running Club, a nonprofit grassroots trail running club in Massachusetts, took on the big challenge this year.
Desnoyers, 38, an endurance running coach who lives on Nantucket, said the running team got support from Mount to Coast, a company that specializes in making shoes for long-distance running. The Boston Double has been going on for at least three decades, he said, but is primarily only known among the ultra running community.
The team began running around 3:30 a.m. in the darkness and logged nearly 53 miles today in total, he said.
“I can’t gush enough about how awesome today was,” he said.
From Dublin to Boston, a friend’s journey to cheer for a cause — 4:45 p.m.
By Aayushi Datta, Globe Correspondent
Jenn Dandrea, 42, flew from Dublin, Ireland, to support her friend, Jessica Kier, who is running for the Michael J. Fox Foundation. The runner is raising money after her father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease two years ago.
A marathoner and endurance athlete herself, Dandrea said she understands the physical and emotional demands of the race. She and her friend previously trained together before moving to different countries.
“She was struggling trying to get through all the training alone,” Dandrea said as Kier paused briefly to greet her while running on Beacon Street in Brookline.“That’s why I came out here to support her.”
Dandrea and Kier both adorned their with faces with touches of glitter to embrace the atmosphere.
“Everybody needs a little sparkle,” she said.
His goofy hat reminds his runner wife that ‘she needs a banana’ — 4:40 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Correspondent
Wearing a large, peeled banana hat on his head, Dan Muhs, 57, stood out from the hordes of people lining Boylston — and that was the point.
His wife, Tina Eileen Muhs, 51, picked out the funny hat so she could easily find him in the crowd — her own bat signal, of sorts.
“I’m goofy like this. It’s fun to have the attention,” said Dan Muhs, who added the hat was also riffing on the fact he kept reminding her “that she needs a banana to keep her going through.”
Muhs said he and his wife met in the military and have been married for 32 years. He swelled with pride as he spoke of her running accomplishments, calling her “my champion.”
“It means the world to me because she’s gone above and beyond,” he said. “She knocks it out.”
Six star finishers in Boston — 4:30 p.m.
By Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
At the Marathon, some runners capped a journey of more than 150 combined miles at races all over the world. At the finish line, along with their unicorn medal they also collected the Six Star Medal, meaning they finished the original six World Marathon Majors — Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York, and Tokyo.
Bukelani Mbhele, 45 of Durban, South Africa, only got his fifth star in Tokyo last month, before coming to Boston.
“I like to travel,” Mbhele said. “To do the majors, I get to kill two birds with one stone.”
Mbhele said he thought only a little more than 100 South Africans completed the six majors, making it extra special.
Mbhele said Tokyo was his favorite — his best time — but the support from the fans was best in Boston. And it was cool to run on a record-breaking day, he said.
“That means a lot,” he said. “The weather was very accommodating, so it’s not a surprise.”
Adriana Conde, 49 of Cortázar, Mexico, said it feels amazing to finish the set.
“There’s a lot of things behind all this,” she said. “Sacrifice. Discipline.”
Both Conde and Mbhele have also run the seventh major, Sydney, which will be part of the Nine Star Medal if Cape Town and Shanghai are added to the series as planned. Conde brought all her World Major medals with her, including Sydney, and displayed them at the finish line.
With cooler temperatures, a smoother day for the medical tent — 4:20 p.m.
By Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
With the cooler weather, this year’s race appeared to have been smoother on the medical front. As always in a 26.2-mile race run by tens of thousands, medical volunteers were still kept busy caring for runners with cramps and more severe conditions.
Medical marshal Jura Greeley said around 3:20 pm at the finish line medical tent that it had been a good year so far.
“Things are going well,” Greeley said. “It’s very exciting to see the enthusiasm of the volunteers and to see the runners make PRs.”
Celtics broadcaster Drew Carter finishes Boston again — 4:15 p.m.
By Cam Kerry, Globe Staff
Celtics play-by-play broadcaster Drew Carter finished his second Boston Marathon in 3:28:25. He credited his increased training as fuel to cross the finish line with less fatigue than a year ago, committing to putting in the miles despite a bevy of travel and late nights on the mic.
“I would just say I’ve never felt more connected to this city than I do right now,” said Carter. “I was out there out running and hearing people yell my name and ‘go Celtics.’ For someone who didn’t grow up in Boston, that’s really special and made me emotional.”
Carter ran as part of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation’s Green Runs Deep team, in support of the Martin Richard Foundation to raise funds of Fieldhouse+, an athletic and community facility under construction in Dorchester.
“I was thinking about the people who donated and the Richard family and how amazing they are, that kind of carried me through,” he said.
Hockey royalty have a medal meet-up — 4:10 p.m.
By Emma Healy, Globe Staff
The Boston Fleet’s Haley Winn and Alina Müller have gotten used to the weight of their Olympic medals hanging around their necks in recent months.
On Monday, they got to pass that feeling along, handing out unicorn medals to runners at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Winn, who won gold with Team USA, and Müller, who won bronze with Switzerland, brought their Olympic hardware along with them to greet runners on Boylston Street.
“It’s super inspiring,” Müller said. “We were getting emotional just from watching.”
One of the lucky runners who received his medal from the Fleet players was Bruins legend Zdeno Chara, who had to stoop down about a foot so Müller could reach him and who apologized to her for not running faster. (He finished in 3 hours, 18 minutes).
Do either of the Fleet players have a future in marathoning?
“Maybe far in the future when I hang up the skates like Chara,” Winn said. “But it does make you want to do really hard things.”
Kenmore Square, T station packed with Red Sox and Marathon fans — 4:05 p.m.
By Hannah Goeke, Globe Correspondent
Between the Marathon and the Red Sox game, Kenmore Square was wall-to-wall with people around 3 p.m. as fans made their way home after the Sox beat the Tigers, 8-6.
Lines snaked in all directions as fans flooded restaurants and packed Green Line trains.
A huge crowd formed outside of Kenmore station with security only allowing small groups inside as platforms remained at capacity.
Red Sox fan John Cash, 29, said he’s watched games on Marathon Monday before but “this is probably the worst it’s ever been.”
Shipping up to Boylston — 3:55 p.m.
By Mike Puzzanghera, Globe Correspondent
The Dropkick Murphy’s Jeff DaRosa’s music of choice to run to? A lot of rap.
“Not a lot of rock,” DaRosa said. “I get that taken care of in my day job.”
The musician finished Monday in 3:40:32, an 8:25 pace per mile. He had his kids write their names on his shirt, and the crowd was calling his son Levi’s name on the course.
“I had them with me,” he said.
He ran Monday in support of Claddagh Fund, the organization founded by the band’s frontman, Ken Casey.
“Beautiful day, beautiful spirit in the city,” DaRosa said, adding with a laugh that he doesn’t know if he’ll run it again.
A sweet finish — 3:50 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Surrounded by friends and family celebrating marathon finishers by Copley Plaza, Jose Fernando Serna Osorio, 40, wrapped in a foil blanket and the Colombian flag, beamed when he saw his wife, Sara Duque Lopez, 36, waiting for him.
He took off his race medal and placed it around her neck. They embraced in a tight hug and kissed, rocking back and forth and remaining locked in each other’s arms, soaking in the moment.
The couple had traveled from Colombia for Serna Osorio, who has been running for a decade, to take on Boston, which he called his “dream race,” according to a friend who translated for Serna Osorio and Lopez. Serna Osorio said there are “no words” to describe how he is feeling.
Lopez said she cried a lot while watching the race, running her finger from her eye down her cheek.
“It’s amazing. It’s exciting,” she said. “I can’t believe that we are here.”
Lopez said the marathon is a “challenge,” but that the couple “took it on like a team.”
“He ran, but I am here,” she said, pointing at her husband’s heart.
Rowing a marathon at the Marathon? — 3:45 p.m.
By Bryan Hecht and Sam Shipman, Globe Correspondents
In Natick, some fitness enthusiasts weren’t content just to watch the Marathon. From a parking lot beyond the downtown center, roughly a dozen members of the strength and conditioning facility CompTrain participated in a marathon of their own on rowing machines as runners flew by.
“We are rowing a marathon at the Marathon,” said 39-year-old Anna Dalton, a coach at CompTrain, which opened in 2010. “We have two members who are actually running the Marathon, and as very active people, we want to be able to put in work while we’re watching other people inspire us to do more work.”
Alternating on and off with a partner as the last wave of charity runners passed Natick Common, Brian Curley, 65, completed nearly 10,000 meters across two and a half hours to push the group toward their goal of rowing 42,195 meters across the teams by the end of marathon day — the same distance as Hopkinton to Copley.
Curley said that while the erg exercise wasn’t as tiring as an endurance race because of the breaks, “it’s great interval training.” He is no stranger to hard work either, he added, and was the high-intensity gym’s first member.
Red Sox win gives some energy to Fenway — 3:40 p.m.
By Hannah Goeke, Globe Correspondent
Red Sox fans poured out of the stadium around 3 p.m. to watch the runners on their last mile to the finish line, bringing a new wave of energy with them in Kenmore Square.
Red Sox fan Jack Viens, 30, came out of the game just in time to watch his friend Connor Melanson run his last marathon mile.
“The mood in the city is just sky high right now,” he said. “Red Sox always do well on Marathon Day.”
The Red Sox beat the Tigers, 8-6, as the offense overcame starter Sonny Gray’s early exit. Read more here.
Melanson, 27, is running the race in honor of his father, who died of ALS. Viens kept tracking Melanson’s progress throughout the game.
“The No. 1 priority was always the Marathon,” Viens said.
130 marathons for the 130th Boston Marathon — 3:35 p.m.
By Matty Wasserman, Globe Correspondent
After completing his 100th marathon at Boston in 2024, Alberto Colin of Long Beach, Calif., zeroed in on his next goal: Make the 130th Boston Marathon his 130th.
That required Colin, 59, to “squeeze everything in” over the past two years, traveling to marathons all around the country and keeping himself in marathon shape year-round.
A serial marathon runner, Colin plans on completing four marathons over the next four weeks, with the goal of reaching at least 147 marathons by the time he returns for the 2027 Boston Marathon.
“Anybody can do what I did with consistency and the dedication,” said Colin. “More than anything, it’s about setting the goal and then laying out the plan of how you’re going to go execute.”
Laura Green powers through the pain — 3:30 p.m.
By A.J. Traub, Globe Correspondent
Laura Green knew her hamstring would flare up as she started another Marathon, but after talking to her family at Mile 15 and knowing she wasn’t making the injury worse, she pictured herself turning onto Boylston again — she estimates this is her fifth Boston Marathon — and then did it.
Green, who has made a name for herself as a running comedian and content creator, said she talked with friends and did plenty of walking, but made it the rest of the way. “
The pain I’m feeling is just quads being out of shape. Pain is privilege,” she said. “This is when the race gets really fun and I don’t want to miss out.”
Putting his heart into it — 3:25 p.m.
By Mike Puzzanghera, Globe Correspondent
Thirteen months after having open heart surgery, Phil Young of Las Vegas, 63, is a Boston Marathon finisher for the sixth time.
Young suffered a cardiac arrest and was hospitalized for 27 days in early 2025, four weeks before Boston. He would not be deterred in returning to the course.
“I made it my purpose, my passion, to be here for this year’s Boston,” he said.
Young ran the New York City Marathon in November, and finished Boston in 3:25:28 Monday.
“There’s always someone who would give everything to have your worst day,” Young said. “Every day that I have is amazing.”
Running on a record-breaking day — 3:16 p.m.
By Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
The Boston Marathon is always special, but for some runners it was even more exciting to race the same day the men’s course record was broken, with Kenya’s John Korir running under 2:02.
“I thought my PB was good, but there’s levels,” joked Oscar Haven, 33, of Copenhagen.
Haven ran a 2:24 himself, beating his previous time in Boston by more than 15 minutes.
“It was a great day for it,” he said of the record. “That’s awesome.”
Prathamesh Gandhawale, 24 of Bangalore, India, said he’d never run in a race where someone came within 3 minutes of Korir’s time. Gandhawale, too, ran a personal best, a 2:48, in his first marathon outside India, and he hopes to come back annually.
“It’s the best course on the planet,” he said. “I love the energy of this city.”
Adam Ewert, 42 of Redlands, California, said he’d been watching the forecast and expecting some fast times.
“I’m not surprised, but that’s pretty cool they set it the day I raced,” Ewert said.
Ewert didn’t do as well as he hoped, thanks to the tough course, but it was still his fastest race ever.
Hair metal here on Hereford — 3:13 p.m.
By Spencer Buell, Globe Staff
Sometimes, the metal live experience involves ear-splitting speakers filling an arena.
Sometimes, it’s a couple guitars, pocket-size amps, and a plastic bucket.
Those were the tools of the trade for a quartet of first-year Berklee students who carried their very portable gear to a spot next to Hereford Street Monday morning, hoping to entertain the masses outside the Engine 33 Ladder 15 fire station with some 80s hits from the likes of White Snake and Guns ‘n Roses.
“Gets the job done,” said Alexander Vartan, 19, who is studying film scoring at Berklee and whose curly brown hair reached down to the lapels of his black leather jacket.
It doesn’t take much. Their amplifiers were just a few inches wide, and played at a volume that competed only barely with the roaring crowd, even cranked all the way up. In lieu of a full kit, drummer Joseph Varanelli, an 18-year-old majoring in performance, bounced his drumsticks on a bucket.
Things didn’t start so well. When they tried to set up right next to the fire department’s open bay door, they were promptly shooed away, they said. Then they found a spot a few yards down.
They launched into their first song of the day: Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” and by the first guitar solo, a half-dozen people were filming the show on their phones.
A newborn’s first Marathon — 3:05 p.m.
By Spencer Buell, Globe Staff
Many parents with newborns are too exhausted for adventure in those first few weeks after the baby arrives.
Not Patrick and Julia Lenehan, both 33, of Cambridge, who were weaving through the crowds along Hereford Street with a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a three-week-old in tow. They had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to see their first marathon in person, they said.
“Honestly, we had kind of forgotten about it, then this morning we remembered it was Marathon Monday, so figured we’d come over and say hey,” said Patrick, a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital on paternity leave.
He held the two oldest up to see over the crowd, while the youngest napped in a stroller.
Is navigating Boston during the biggest sports day of the year easy to do on limited sleep, and with two toddlers to account for? No. But they said the pristine weather and the energy of the crowd helped. So they were all smiles.
“It’s worth it,” said Julia.
Getting into the patriotic spirit — 3:00 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Bree Winton, 27, and her friend, Lindsay Hoffner, 26, were counting down the minutes around noon until Winton’s brother-in-law was expected to race past them on Boylston Street. Her sister is also running the Marathon, Winton said.
Winton said her sister, Aubrey Quillen, and brother-in-law, Phillip Quillen, met in college.
Winton and Hoffner decided to go all-out for the celebratory occasion, with each dressing up as a famous colonial figure — Winton in a brown garb and styled white-haired wig as Alexander Hamilton, and Hoffner, donning similar style but in blue, as the nation’s first president, George Washington. A bunch of their friends had tagged along in support.
“It’s our first time watching the Boston Marathon, so we wanted to do something patriotic,” said Hoffner, who lives in Boston.
“We wanted to support my sister. She loves [the Broadway show] Hamilton, so that’s why I made a Hamilton sign,” added Winton, who traveled from New Orleans.
Playing on a lyric from the famous play, Winton’s sign read “Why do you run like you’re running out of time?” Hoffner, meanwhile, carried a sign that quipped “Run like the British are coming.”
Both friends are runners, but, Winton joked, “Not fast enough for the Boston Marathon.”
Where are all those garbage bags of clothes headed? — 2:50 p.m.
By Claire Thornton, Globe Staff
HOPKINTON — Hundreds of clear plastic trash bags filled with clothing items discarded by runners lined sidewalks along East Main Street at noon.
Every year, all the extra layers of clothing collected after runners start the race is donated to people in need, according to volunteers.
Many items, such as coats, appeared new and still had tags on Monday afternoon, likely because runners knew they’d be donated, said volunteer Lana Rosales.
Rosales, who lives in West Roxbury, said this is her third year as a volunteer after running the marathon in 2021.
Rosales took a rest for a few minutes around noon, squatting down to sit on a clothing-filled trash bag, as of it were a bean bag chair. She pulled up her hood against a chilly breeze, and said there appeared to be more discarded clothing than in recent years.
“Because it’s so cold,” she said.
An ironic way of showing support — 2:30 p.m.
By Lauren Albano, Globe Correspondent
Just past the 11-mile mark atop a hill, Louisa Genest sent a different message to runners than most.
Her friends shouted at runners holding signs that read “Great stamina, u single?” and “If a marathon was easy, it’d be your mom!” But Genest, a 29-year-old graphic designer, held a simple white poster, which in black letters read, “Motivational Sign.”
Genest hoped her sign would get some chuckles. She said she was inspired by “droll, corporate” irony such as Dwight Schrute’s famous “It is your birthday” sign from “The Office.”
“It’s so boring that it’s funny,” Genest said. “It helps take people’s mind off of, ‘Oh god, I hate running,’ especially because we’re at the top of the first stinky hill.”
Jess McClain, top American woman, ran a personal best. Here’s what she said about it. — 2:25 p.m.
By Amin Touri, Globe Staff
Jess McClain rebounded from a difficult race earlier this year with a personal-best finish in Boston. Here’s what she had to say after the race.
On running a huge personal best: “I had no idea how fast I was running, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I got to the finish and realized what the official time was. But I think my MO has been not to focus so much on time during the race. I had something of an idea of what we were running, ballpark-wise, but truly, I should’ve thrown my watch off — like Sharon [Lokedi], just not even bring it — but I was super happy, yeah.”
On having to turn back mid-race after missing a bottle at a hydration station: “Yeah, I thought I possibly would’ve taken my gloves off by that point, so I think my gloves just kind of got in the way at that bottle station. Dropped the bottle, it was instinct to go back, and we all know what happened in Atlanta, I’ve been a half-mile off course so a few seconds isn’t going to throw me, so I went back for the bottle. I felt good every time I got the carbs and the fuel in, so I knew I needed it especially going into the Newton hills. Just a quick U-turn, just tried to gradually catch the pack again, but not a lot of thought, just instinct.”
On her perspective on the sport: “I feel like there are so many times in the sport that I have visualized having the moment and breaking the tape and getting the podium, and I think I just kind of approached the sport as train and do it at all costs, and that wasn’t lending itself to much joy in the process. So in this second go at my career, I’m truly enjoying being in the sport and competing at a high level and racing again.
“The multiple fourth-place finishes, the Atlanta situation — obviously you have feelings about those moments in the moment, but I think I’ve learned a lot from them and I’ve gained a lot of perspective. Some days it’s not gonna be my day, but its helped me realize, what it this, I’m going to enjoy it. ... I love Boston, and last year was so special, and I wasn’t trying to replicate last year per se, but I wanted to come in and defend that first American title, so to do that on a day like today, amazing conditions, and to run a time like that ... I’m enjoying it, but I guess my brand is, you know, we pick ourselves up, we line back up again, and I’m going to keep taking opportunities to do that. What ever the universe wants to keep throwing at me, I’ll keep taking it.”
On the race conditions: “There were rumblings throughout the weekend about a tailwind and how the race would unfold with the weather conditions, but I was kind of game for it go any which way. Training, I did a ton of different workouts where we incorporated pace changes this year, because I think that was something that was tough for me last year when moves were made, it was harder for me to cover them. My approach to this point has been, more conservative in the first half, then hopefully I can hang on the second half, but today I felt super good the second half so I felt like I could cover more moves this year.
“But obviously the tailwind played into a lot of the approach. I think it was just a year where, you don’t get these conditions every year, so if you’re going to full-send, carpe diem, this is the year to do it, and that’s kind of the mindset. I was like, if I blow up or feel like I went a little too hard the last 10K, so be it, but I ended up feeling really good.”
On the strength of American women distance runners: “Yeah, it was awesome, I think we had a pretty strong pack for quite some time in the race. You’re looking left and right and you see Dakotah [Popehn], you’ve got Amanda Vestri, who’s a total rookie just putting herself at the front of the race; Annie Frisbie, she run with so much grit and strength, and she was someone that I knew, in the latter half of the race, I’d 100 percent have to keep my eyes on.
“A rising tide lifts all boats, and I think we’re in an era of distance running where we’re all making each other so much better every time we line up with one another, and I think we’re going to keep getting stronger and stronger, and it’s going to be exciting to see what the starting line in 2028 [at the Olympic marathon trials] is like. ... It’s a very cool era, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
On the Wellesley scream tunnel: “It’s the best. I threw out some high fives last year with Emma Bates, and I was hoping to do that this year, but I was just in game-on mode the whole time because I knew what would potentially be coming for the rest of the race. Wellesley is when I let myself get out of autopilot mode and enjoy it, and my ears were ringing this year.”
Chelsea Clinton greeted by famous parents after finishing Marathon — 2:15 p.m.
Chelsea Clinton, 46, the daughter of former president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, took on the Boston Marathon for the first time.
When she completed the race, she was greeted by her famous parents at the finish, who gave her a Marathon medal.
Chelsea Clinton is an author, advocate, and the vice chair of the Clinton Foundation, a philanthropic organization aimed at addressing global problems. Clinton has run several marathons and ran as a qualified participant at Boston.
Her finish time was not available.
Zouhair Talbi, top American man, on how he ran so fast — 2:05 p.m.
By Amin Touri, Globe Staff
Zouhair Talbi became an American citizen last year. On Monday, he finished fifth, the best finish by an American man.
Here are the highlights from his press conference:
On what gave him the confidence to run so fast: “I would say the training, first. I’ve been training very well, and earlier this year I ran 2:05, my personal best, and also ran a fast half-marathon, around 59 [minutes], was also a personal best, so since early [in the] year I was doing personal bests in every distance, so I was really motivated. I was waiting for the race to start and just see how I felt that day, and today everything was clicking, everything was good, and I was like, this is the day, this where I just have to follow the surges and see what’s going to happen.”
On the race conditions: “Of course I knew it was going to be tailwind, which is an advantage for us to run a fast time, but the pace is determined by the leaders, and at this point you just want to follow the pace. A lot of athletes were pushing the pace early on, and, yeah, going through the half in 61 [minutes], I was like, yeah, today’s going to be a fast time.”
On how American distance running can get to the next level: “This is what it’s going to take. We need to push each other, everyone needs to be in the pack, everyone needs to push themselves, everyone needs to run fast times. Conner Mantz led the way running 2:04, that’s inspiring for us, and the whole time [today] I felt like there were 5-6 of us Americans trying to push the pace, and we end up with 4-5 guys having under 2:06, which is amazing to see. I think this is just the start — if you run 2:05, or 2:04, or 2:03 in my case, you definitely want to go to a fast course and see if you can match the time or go even faster.”
This Revolutionary War reenactor claims he spotted Rosie Ruiz first — 2:00 p.m.
By Hannah Goeke, Globe Correspondent
J. Archer O’Reilly III, the vice chair of Revolution 250, found a unique way to remind spectators in Brookline that it’s not just race day but Patriots’ Day, the 251th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord.
“We’ve been holding events in Massachusetts for eight years. That’s when I started dressing up as Major General Henry Knox at the Marathon,” he said. “We get people from all over the world and I want them to associate Massachusetts with the birth of the United States of America.”
O’Reilly, who has lived in Brooklyn for more than 60 years, said that a few decades ago, the Marathon was a community activity running on “neighbors coming out with hoses and throwing oranges” to keep the athletes going.
O’Reilly has been to every Marathon except one since 1966 and claims to have been the first to notice that famous runner Rosie Ruiz cheated her way into winning the 1980 Boston Marathon by jumping onto the course near the finish line.
“I knew she hadn’t passed me. You don’t miss the first group of women runners,” he said. “As soon as they announced that she was the winner, I said, no. That’s not right.”
O’Reilly also carried comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory across the finish line in 1972 after the runner had not eaten solid food for 14 months as a form of political protest during the Vietnam War.
“He collapsed and went into convulsions at my aid station and in those days, you could park on the course,” O’ Reilly said. “I put him in my car, drove us to the finish line, and carried him across on my shoulders.”
Dad finishes men’s wheelchair race for the first time — 1:50 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Scott Sussman, 41, and his family gathered together near Copley Plaza to celebrate his completion of the men’s wheelchair race for the first time. He wore the race medal around his neck, and a foil blanket was draped across his shoulders.
Sussman said he qualified for Boston after racing at the St. Michael’s Marathon in Maryland. The loud and exuberant crowds along the route from Hopkinton, he said, fueled him through the challenging parts of the course — the hills — and made a “huge difference.”
“It was incredible,” said Sussman, who traveled from New Jersey. “The crowds were amazing. The hills were hard, but it was fast, fun.”
His mom, Elaine Russman, 69, who was there to cheer him on with his wife and two kids, ran the race 25 years ago, Scott Sussman said. He recalled watching her from the sidelines.
“To be able to be here and do it again — and not be on the sidelines — it was really a full circle moment,” he said.
Tyler Sussman, 9, said it was exciting to watch his dad race. Nine years from now, he said, he and his dad want to participate in a race together.
They hope to run soon, but today they just cheered — 1:45 p.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Naatika Thompson, 25, and Amina Choudhry, 24, walked past the Fairmont Copley on their way to watch the race they hope to run together before graduating from Tufts dental school in a few years. Neither had been to the Boston Marathon before, they said.
Thompson and Choudhry became friends through running. One day, Thompson recalled, she turned to Choudhry and asked if she wanted to check out the campus run club.
Thompson, who hails from North Carolina, wore a sweatshirt Monday that bore the words “Black runners matter.” She began running in 2019, finding community in a big run club in Charlotte.
“There’s a lot of Black people that come together and run, so it’s cool to find community within that,” she said.
Eager to cheer on the runners, Choudhry carried a sign with a cheeky message poking fun at the federal government.
“You’re running better than the government!” the sign read in rainbow letters.
“As a dental student, you work so hard and long for things to come to fruition,” Thompson said. “It’s just cool to see people put forth their best effort to accomplish something.”
“I’m gonna feed off of the energy, and hopefully that inspires us to really get into our running grind,” Choudhry added. “We’re going to create a plan and we’re going to stick to it.”
By Amin Touri, Globe Staff
Highlights from women’s winner Sharon Lokedi’s press conference ...
On how it feels to defend her title: “It feels great. I ‘m really happy with it. I feel like this course challenges you so much, and with the help of people and all the cheers of the course, it makes it special, so I’m really grateful.”
On breaking away from the pack: “I just went with it and I felt good at that time, and I was like, let me just push it, and see how it goes. It went well. I left it all out there, so that’s all I can say.”
On the pace she set late in the race: “I knew I was going fast, but I didn’t know how fast I was going. This morning, I forgot my watch. I think we were like 30 minutes in [to the bus ride to Hopkinton] and I told my coach, I forgot my watch. We managed to get a watch, it still was a Garmin, but I didn’t have anything other than paces and kilometers. All I wanted to do was just get to the finish line as fast as possible.”
On feeling a little tired early in the race: “When you start the race, you don’t know, your body is just getting used to it, so you don’t know until you’re maybe 15 kilometers [in] where you’re at, so I feel like for me, as I go, I start to — my body warms up, and I start to get into the rhythm.”
On holding back early in the race before surging: “I think the biggest part is just working with the girls and just being, just seeing how it goes. Yes, once it gets to like halfway through, you know you have to set the pace and get yourself to just know how you can handle the last few kilometers. For me, I didn’t try to go from there, but it just happened that I got the rhythm going and I just went with it there.”
Runners get a Colombian welcome to Framingham — 1:30 p.m.
By Bryan Hecht, Globe Correspondent
FRAMINGHAM — The Restrepo family have been staples in Framingham for three decades. Since then they have become marathon fixtures, welcoming runners to Mile 6 with cheering, pan banging, and Colombian music from their house on the route.
This year runners stopped for photo ops and to cheer with the family as charity runners crested the hill into town.
“Every year we add a little more,” said Daniela Saboya, a 31-year-old Framingham native and family member dressed in an inflatable shark costume. “In Framingham there’s a lot of Latinos,” she added, saying their cheer acts as a “Colombian” welcome.
The whole family, eight strong on Monday, took to the street outside to blast Colombian music, grill food, and cheer on friends and strangers in the race.
John Korir on his title: ‘I knew I could run fast, it was just how fast I could run’ — 1:25 p.m.
By Amin Touri, Globe Staff
John Korir spoke to the media after his triumphant victory on Monday. The highlights from his press conference:
On defending his title, setting a course record: “I knew I would defend my title, but I didn’t know I could run my fastest. So for me, it was just go and defend my title, but the time came, so I’m happy.”
On how it feels to set the course record: “It feels good. I ran my PB today in Boston, so I’m happy.”
On covering Milkesa Mengesha’s move: “For me, when he went I was not that much worried, because I knew I would close him, and I closed him. He was not moving that fast, so I just had to push and left him.”
On how he broke the course record: “For me, last year I fell at the start, so I was not sure if I run fast if my legs would give up on me. But this year, coming into Boston I was in pretty good shape, so I knew I could run fast, it was just how fast I could run to the finish line.
On if he’s thinking about breaking the world record someday: “For me, now, I don’t worry about the world record.”
On when he realized he’d broken the course record: “For me, when I crossed the finish line, I didn’t know that I’ve run the course record until they told me. That’s when I started to be happy.”
On if he’s focused on position or time in Boston: “At Boston, you’re thinking about position, not time.”
On his message for kids in his village back home: “I know they’re watching. My message today is just believe in yourself, and you could be a champion in Boston. Believe in yourself, trust in God, and you can make it.”
Why are there weather stations along the route? — 1:20 p.m.
By Ken Mahan, Globe Staff
Because the slightest changes in weather are so critical to marathon athletes’ health on race day, a team of meteorology students from UMass Lowell is providing real-time weather observations and measurements from the course to BAA, marathon medical staff, and emergency officials to ensure crews are prepared for any weather-related illnesses.
The team set up weather stations at 10 locations along the race route. Each 6-foot-tall ClimaVue research sensor measures changes in temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and solar radiation. The latest data is relayed every 30 minutes.
Medical staff aren’t expecting significant weather-induced issues among runners and spectators with today’s great weather. Still, higher temperatures can be deceiving for marathoners, who can develop hypothermia with air temperatures as high as 50 under certain conditions.
A small business booms along the course — 1:15 p.m.
By Lauren Albano, Globe Correspondent
NATICK — It wasn’t just fans lining the marathon route: a handful of young entrepreneurs staked out spots, too.
Shea and Ella Benton, Ellie and Charlie Wise, and Jude Padilla Hrones banded together to run a lemonade stand during the race.
The kids promoted their business to the crowd, and Shea, 12, and Jude, 11, strolled down the sidewalk with fresh cups of lemonade and a basket of sweets to entice spectators on their block.
Charlie, 8, said his favorite part was simply screeching “Lemonade!” Jude said he was excited to see all the runners speed by.
By 11 a.m. the group had already made $90, though Ellie, 10, said she’d like to make a little more.
“I want to make $100 because it’s easier to divide into percentages,” Ellie said.
Staking out a spot on the course — 1:10 p.m.
By Aayushi Datta, Globe Correspondent
Laura Tagliafierro, 40, traveled from Canada and staked out a spot at the 20-mile mark in Newton to cheer on friends running the marathon.
She arrived Thursday night and spent the weekend preparing signs and picking the perfect viewing spot along the course.
“We’ve been here all weekend, just getting ready for the race,” Tagliafierro said as she cheered on wheelchair racers with her seven-year-old daughter, Fae, and her aunt, Christine Strobele, 63, of Watertown.
Their handmade posters ranged from simple encouragement — “Run, Juli, run” for her best friend, and “Go Cassidy” for another friend from Sudbury — to playful wordplay inspired by Heartbreak hill.
“One last hill,” one sign read, while another riffed on a Britney Spears lyric: “Hit me baby one more climb.”
“We’re just millennials,” she said of sign she made for her best friend. “She’ll love it when she sees it.”
Marcel Hug, Eden Rainbow-Cooper talk wheelchair wins — 1:05 p.m.
By Cam Kerry and Amin Touri, Globe Staff
Highlights from the press conferences of wheelchair winners Marcel Hug and Eden Rainbow-Cooper.
Hug on the race: “Every single win here in Boston is really something special, it means a lot to me. Nine times is even more incredible. I just take — or try to take — every step at a time.”
“I never take it for granted to win here in Boston, or to win any race. It was a fantastic race, a fantastic day. I’m really, really happy.”
“It gives you a bit of confidence to be ahead of the competitors. On the other hand, it’s harder. You’re by your own.”
Hug on new technology he’s using now: “The newest project was new gloves, 3D printed gloves. For me, it’s an improvement of weight. We tried to improve little details, step by step, and bring not only myself forward but also the sport in general.”
Hug on what makes the Boston course unique: “The downhill at the beginning, really a key factor if you’re down there in front. It’s difficult to catch up. The other thing is the uphills at the end, you still have to be aware of the uphills and have some energy left. I love the course because of the downhill and uphill. There’s some time to recover on the downhills and get ready for the uphills.”
Rainbow-Cooper on her mindset as a past champion: “Every single marathon is different. For me, personally, I don’t go into a marathon like, ‘I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again for certain.’ Coming in, I know the course, I know what I’m capable of, but it was still a surprise today. 1:30 is a really fast time, I never though I’d do that in a race. They’re always different, but it’s always a pleasure and an honor.”
Rainbow-Cooper on the conditions on Monday: “They were perfect. A tailwind is always perfect on this course, and it was a little bit colder at the start, which I actually prefer, it’s a little like being at home, and then it warmed up so it wasn’t too cold for us on the hills. For me, I couldn’t have had a more perfect day of weather.”
Rainbow-Cooper on what has changed in her training: “Me and my coach, we joke that the less I think, the better I do. Training over the winter, I’ve been getting in the chair and going through the motions, so there have been no real big changes. It’s just been consistency and time, and I’m reaching the age, 24-25, that my body is getting stronger and I should be getting faster if I keep on going. It’s just about consistency, staying healthy, and listening to my coach.”
Rainbow-Cooper on the tactical challenges of Boston’s unusual, hilly course: “It’s really unique, especially starting on such a sharp downhill, a lot of it is about how your chair rolls, how aerodynamic you are. It’s hard tactically down that first hill, in my experience, to know, because it depends on so many different things. I know in the women’s race especially, tactics, if you’re in a group, are very similar, we’re all working together to reach the finish, but when you’re on your own, you know people are chasing you, so your tactic is just, ‘go.’ It is always different because the packs split a lot quicker here, and it’s much more of a mental game for me.”
Dana-Farber Marathon runners raise over $9 million for cancer research — 1:00 p.m.
By Hannah Goeke, Globe Correspondent
Under sunny skies, a group of supporters of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team stood by the barricades at mile marker 25 near Kenmore Square. Tracy Saperstein, 60, said she will be cheering on more than 525 runners today who are raising money for cancer research.
Saperstein said she has run Boston several times and even got a tattoo on her leg to commemorate the event.
“I was like ‘I’m never doing that again.’ It was raining, and it was miserable,” she said. “And I woke up about 40 hours later, and I said, ‘I’m doing this again.’”
This year, the largest charity group in the Boston Marathon has raised over $9 million to support Dana-Farber’s lifesaving mission.
A runner returns after 30 years to watch his son — 12:50 p.m.
By Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
Wayne Bruckner, 81, of Longmont, Colorado, ran the 100th Boston Marathon, in 1996. He loved it, but it was his last marathon, and he hasn’t been back since.
Until now.
“My son qualified for the first time,” Bruckner said. “We’re so proud of him. To take a picture with both our jackets.”
For both, Boston was a huge goal.
“It was such a dream to qualify for it. I tried for three years,” Bruckner said. “The year before, I missed it by 27 seconds.”
It was worth it, an awesome experience Bruckner remembers vividly 30 years later.
“When you make that final corner, you can see the finish line and your heart is racing, you’re so excited,” he said. “Boston is such a special place. For runners, it’s the Mecca.”
Three generations cheer for one runner — 12:45 p.m.
By Aayushi Datta, Globe Correspondent
Three generations of one family gathered along Commonwealth Avenue in Newton early Monday, staking out a bench as they waited to spot runners.
Chris Leake, 50, of Gardiner, Maine, sat with his 80-year-old father and 16-year-old daughter, waiting to cheer on a relative, Shane Johnson, who is running for the Doug Flutie, Jr. Foundation for Autism, a non-profit in Waltham.
The family chose a stretch near the base of Heartbreak Hill to watch runners push through the final miles.“This is where we were last year,” Leake said. “It’s just great to see all the different folks coming together for this — all the different license plates as we were driving down here.”
Fending off the spring cold — 12:35 p.m.
By Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
Deb Suppes, 61, of Elko, Minnesota, came prepared. A Midwesterner cheering on her daughter’s 17th marathon, Suppes and family brought winter coats and gloves, and a heavy wool blanket to keep warm.
“We’re from Minnesota,” Suppes said.
With hours to go before daughter Kelsie Ashleson, 35, is expected to finish, the wool blanket was pulling double-duty as a fort, draped over the stroller and railing. Underneath, it protected the grandkids’ iPads from glare.
This is Ashleson’s second Boston Marathon, a planned redemption race after an injury made her miss six weeks of training last year. It beats even big midwestern races Ashleson has run, the Chicago and Minneapolis Marathons, Suppes said.
“Boston does it right.”
Sharon Lokedi is a Boston Marathon champion for a second straight year, and she did it by holding back.
Lokedi stayed in the pack for much of the race, which was as much an issue of circumstance as pre-planning.
“I just had to be patient,” Lokedi said. “At the start, I was very tired, I was like ‘oh god, I don’t know if i have it today,’ but I just kept working. At one time, I felt good, and I was like, ‘this is it, I either stay or I go,’ and I’m glad I [went].”
Lokedi broke away through the Newton hills and past Boston College, putting plenty of daylight between herself and her chasers by the time she entered Brookline, a much earlier surge than her late kick to win last year.
“It was a bit different, but we started out controlled, a bit fast, and I feel like we worked together all the way,” she said. “Until like 30K, that’s when the breakaway happened, but it was a little different, after I broke away, I was like, I don’t know if I’m going to do it. But the people brought me all the way with the cheers.”
A year ago, Lokedi fell into her mother’s arms after claiming the title, but her mom couldn’t make it this year.
“I felt so much love,” Lokedi said. “I’m really, really grateful. I wish [my mother] was here but I know wherever she is, she’s really, really happy right now.”
Jess McClain finishes fifth, top American — 12:11 p.m.
It’s another spectacular run in Boston for Jess McClain, who is the top American for the second straight year — this time in fifth place overall, and with a huge personal best of 2:20:49.
At the finish line, McClain could be heard asking, “what just happened?”
The 34-year-old, who still works full-time alongside her running, has established herself as one of the country’s best marathoners, and a fifth-place finish in Boston is a new high point for her career.
Annie Frisbie was the second American (eighth overall) in 2:22:00, with Emily Sisson just behind in ninth in 2:22:39.
It’s a Kenyan sweep in the elite races, and it’s a day for the defending champions too, as Sharon Lokedi cruised to a second straight Boston Marathon title. It wasn’t quite the record-breaking performance of 2025, but Lokedi was similarly dominant in her encore, surging through the Newton hills and quickly dropping her chasers to win a second straight laurel wreath in 02:18:51.
Lokedi was patient in the pack through the first two-thirds of the race before springing to life near Heartbreak Hill, then dropping the three fastest mile splits of the race — 4:41, 4:49, and 4:35 — from miles 22 to 24 to put the field away early.
Sharon Lokedi has dropped the hammer in defense of her crown, with the reigning champion running the 22nd mile in 4:41 — nearly 30 seconds faster than any other mile split in the race — and the 23rd mile in 4:49 to put some daylight between her and the chasers. Loice Chemnung is more than 10 seconds back as just three miles stand between Lokedi and back-to-back Boston Marathon titles.
American Jess McClain is in seventh place, about a minute behind Lokedi’s lead.
Zouhair Talbi sets American record — 11:49 a.m.
While John Korir set a new course record up front, more history was made just behind him, as Zouhair Talbi set a new American best at the Boston Marathon in 2:03:45 to shave more than a minute off Ryan Hall’s mark from 2011.
It’s the fastest marathon ever run by an American man, though the Boston Marathon course is not eligible for setting overall records.
Talbi, born in Morocco, became an American citizen last year and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve.
She was only going to bide her time for so long — Sharon Lokedi has gone to the front on the back side of Heartbreak Hill, with a big injection of pace breaking up the lead pack entirely. Americans Annie Frisbie and Jess McClain have dropped back, and only Irine Cheptai and Loice Chemnung seem ready to go with Lokedi.
John Korir wins again, sets course record — 11:39 a.m.
John Korir is a Boston Marathon champion once again — and he even stayed on his feet this time.
A year after recovering from an early fall to claim last year’s men’s elite race, things were much more straightforward for Korir in 2026, as he surged through the Newton hills en route to a course-record win in 02:01:52.
Korir joins a long list of back-to-back men’s Boston Marathon champions that includes Evans Chebet (2022 and 2023), Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot (2006, 2007, and 2008), and Bill Rodgers (1978, 1979, and 1980), among others.
Korir responded to multiple big moves during the race, closing the gap on former champion Lemi Berhanu first just after the halfway point, then reeling in breakaway leader Milkesa Mengesha through the Newton hills. He flew past Mengesha and quickly put a gap on the field, leading by 40 seconds by the time he passed Boston College.
The previous course record was held by Geoffrey Mutai, who ran 2:03:02 in 2011 in a race aided by significant tailwinds.
For the second straight year, Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu took second in a sprint finish, this time over Benson Kipruto, who had to settle for third.
After the race, Korir greeted BAA CEO Jack Fleming and asked if he broke the record.
“By a lot,” Fleming told him. Korir began jumping up and down in celebration.
Korir gets to Coolidge Corner — 11:34 a.m.
The crowd on Coolidge Corner erupted into applause as Kenyan runner John Korir just passed through Brookline, leading the men’s race followed closely by Benson Kipruto and Alphonce Felix Simbu. — Hannah Goeke
Women’s pack breaks up, but Americans still lead — 11:30 a.m.
A large women’s pack has finally broken apart, with a group that had held strong at 17 dwindling to just nine at the 30K mark through the Newton hills. Two Americans remain in the mix, with Annie Frisbie and Jess McClain continuing to push the pace at the front; defending champion Sharon Lokedi is still in the pack, as are other pre-race favorites in Irine Cheptai, Workenesh Edesa, and Loice Chemnung.
It’s John Korir vs. the course record — 11:23 a.m.
John Korir is flying as he hits the 22-mile mark, with his lead now up to 40 seconds after back-to-back mile splits of 4:36 and 4:25. He’s on track to take a real swing at Geoffrey Mutai’s course record of 2:03:02, a mark set with a strong tailwind in 2011, as Korir could become a back-to-back champion in style.
Americans leading the women’s elite race — 11:15 a.m.
The Americans are still at the front in the women’s elite race, with Annie Frisbie and Kodi Kleven putting a small gap between themselves and the chasers — a group featuring six more American women — as the women cross from Wellesley into Newton just after 25K.
Defending champion John Korir takes the lead — 11:12 a.m.
Just like he did last year, John Korir is striking through the Newton hills, making a big move to reel in and blow past breakaway leader Milkesa Mingesha on the way through Boston College. Korir hit 20 miles in 1:33:48, and he’s already put 10 seconds of daylight between himself and the chasers as the course flattens out for the final 10K. Benson Kipruto and American Zouhair Talbi lead the chasers.
Former marathon runner cheers on family friend’s first race — 11:10 a.m.
By Sam Shipman, Globe Correspondent
FRAMINGHAM — Scott Rumrill and his girlfriend, Libby Nicholson, drove here from Salem this morning to find the perfect spot to watch a family friend in the race.
Rumrill has run the Boston Marathon 13 times for the American Liver Foundation. He had planned to run his last marathon in 2013, but the bombing prevented him from finishing.
“I almost got to Kenmore Square, until they said, can’t go any further,” Rumrill said. “So I had to hitchhike … home to Cambridge.”
Ultimately, he ran his final race in 2014. Now, Rumrill said he enjoys being a spectator.
Men’s course record is under threat — 11:09 a.m.
Ethiopia’s Milkesa Mengesha is still pushing the pace out front, and there may be a course record on the line here in Boston. Mengesha is a few seconds ahead of the pace of Geoffrey Mutai’s record of 2:03:02, set in 2011, but the chasers are reeling him in — John Korir, Benson Kipruto, and American Zouhair Talbi are in a group of five that are about 10 seconds back as the men reach Heartbreak Hill.
Elite women reach the halfway mark — 11:01 a.m.
The elite women are through the half in 1:11:02, with nine Americans at the front of the chase pack. It’s the same group of 17 all racing together, with reigning champion Sharon Lokedi biding her time back in the pack. There like won’t be any records set today, with the elite women nearly 90 seconds behind Lokedi’s course-record pace from last year.
Surges have broken up the men’s elite pack — 10:53 a.m.
The surges just keep coming in the men’s elite race. After Lemi Berhanu and John Korir came back to the pack, American Zouhair Talbi put in a surge of his own around the 14 mile mark, and now it’s Milkesa Mengesha of Ethiopia that’s breaking away from the field just after 25K. A pack that was 24 men deep at 15K is down to 14, including Americans Talbi, Clayton Young, and Ryan Ford, as well as former champions Berhanu, Korir, and Benson Kipruto.
Here comes Korir, the defending champ — 10:45 a.m.
John Korir isn’t letting Lemi Berhanu get away so easily — while the rest of the pack is nearly 10 seconds behind, Korir has quickly closed the gap on Berhanu, who has motioned for Korir to take the lead. The two are side-by-side for now after reaching the halfway point in 1:01:43.
Kleven and Popehn push the pace at 15K — 10:43 a.m.
The women’s lead pack has been unwavering, with 17 women running together since the opening gun. There’s a bit of an unknown at the front — Kodi Kleven, who splits her time between the roads and trail ultramarathons, is pushing the pace alongside 2024 US Olympian Dakotah Popehn as the women are through 15K in 50:29 (around 5:25 per mile pace).
Eden Rainbow-Cooper wins women’s wheelchair race — 10:41 a.m.
For the second time in three years, Eden Rainbow-Cooper is the women’s wheelchair champion at the Boston Marathon, with an unofficial time of 1:30:49.
Just as she did two years ago, Rainbow-Cooper went wire-to-wire for a second laurel wreath.
“It was tough after my first Boston win, and it’s taken a lot to get back here,” she said. “To take it from the front again and run a very similar race as I did in 2024, it meant a lot to me. I just kept thinking, ‘just get through it, just get to the end.’”
Rainbow-Cooper led by between 40-50 seconds for much of the race before stretching her lead to a huge margin through the Newton hills.
“For me it’s all-in [on the hills], everything, all-in, because I know once I get to the top, I have a little bit of a rest, and the quicker I get to the top, the quicker it’s over,” Rainbow-Cooper said. “Do you know what, it look a lot. But having the crowds, and being at the start line, there’s no better time to give it all.”
In 2024, Cooper became the first woman from Great Britain to win Boston. She had a clear field to compete with 2025 winner Susannah Scaroni not in this year’s field.
Berhanu takes the lead — 10:40 a.m.
We have our first significant breakaway in the men’s race — 2016 champion Lemi Berhanu has injected a sudden burst of pace into this race, quickly putting 30 yards between himself and the rest just after the Wellesley Scream Tunnel. Americans Ryan Ford and Clayton Young are at the front of what’s now become a chase pack.
What exactly is the Wellesley Scream Tunnel? — 10:35 a.m.
The famous “Scream Tunnel,” where Wellesley College students loudly cheer on Boston Marathon runners at the race’s halfway mark, is about to get even louder this year.
The students are ringing cowbells Monday as they exhort — and sometimes smooch — runners to give them an extra jolt of energy and good will as they pass by.
The annual Wellesley “Scream Tunnel” is a highly anticipated tradition of the Boston Marathon festivities, and one that members of the college community hold dear years after they graduate. The striking presence of Wellesley students along the course dates back to the Marathon’s inception in 1897, and the intensity of their cheers has amped up over the years.
Clayton Young, a competitor in the men’s pro race, made the rare move to celebrate a bit with the built-in hype crew. He swerved slightly to the edge of the course to high-five students who lined the barriers.
Trio begins to break away in men’s elite race — 10:25 a.m.
There was a bit of a breakaway in the men’s elite race, with a trio of athletes — German Hendrik Pfeiffer and Americans Alex Maier and Ryan Ford — putting a few yards between themselves and the chasing pack between 10K and 13K. Lemi Berhanu, champion back in 2016, was at the front of that pack, which reeled in the leaders by the 15K mark. The group reached 15K in 43:45, with 24 men (including all the main protagonists) still in close quarters.
Marcel Hug takes men’s wheelchair race — 10:22 a.m.
Marcel Hug took the victory in the men’s wheelchair race with a wire-to-wire performance. He finished in an unofficial time of 1:16:06.
The Swiss star has won nine of the last 11 men’s wheelchair titles. He now has the second-most victories in the race’s history in any division.
His closest competition was American Daniel Romanchuk, winner here in 2019 and 2022, but Hug had a six-minute lead at the 35K mark.
“It was a fantastic race today, I really enjoyed it,” Hug said at the finish. “It was a tough one again, but it was a great race from a beginning. ... I just want to thank all the crowds, thank you to the city of Boston for giving us such a great experience every year.”
He didn’t seem to struggle much along the course. Did he have any difficulty?
The tough parts were definitely the uphills, there were a few of them, but yeah, made it, I have a lot of experience, [I know] what the pace is.“
But he knew from the start he had a great chance to take the victory.
“It was a race against the clock,” he said.
Wheelchair athlete, 10, watches the pros zoom by in Ashland — 10:20 a.m.
By Bryan Hecht, Globe Correspondent
ASHLAND – As the elite men’s and women’s wheelchair racers roared past, 10-year-old wheelchair track athlete Jie Doyon looked on with his own analysis for the pros.
“They’re very bunched together,” said Doyon, who races with Adaptive Sports New England, and recently completed his longest race, a mile event.
Doyon would love to race in the marathon one day. It was watching the event from the sidelines in 2023 that gave him the spark to want to compete.
Doyon began racing in earnest this Spring, said his mother Heather Doyon. It was thanks to the help of Daniel Romanchuk, the Paralympic athlete behind Wheels for Change, a wheelchair racing non-profit which helped provide a custom chair for him to use.
Hug owns a commanding lead, Rainbow-Cooper still in front — 10:18 a.m.
Marcel Hug still has a commanding lead at the front of the men’s wheelchair race, with just a couple miles between him and a ninth Boston Marathon win. Hug hit 35K with a six-minute lead over Daniel Romanchuk, and the Swiss star is just racing the clock now.
At 30K, Eden Rainbow-Cooper’s lead has stretched to 53 seconds over Catherine Debrunner, who’s going to have to do a lot of work through Newton and Brookline to catch the Brit and claim her first Boston Marathon win.
Men’s elite racers hit the 10K mark, women’s elite reach 5K — 10:09 a.m.
The elite women have reached the 5K mark in 16 minutes, 43 seconds, with close to two dozen women in the lead pack. American Susanna Sullivan put a bit of a gap between herself and the pace at points in the opening miles, but she dropped back to the group before the end of the third mile.
The elite men have hit 10K in 29:05, with a slightly slower second 5K. The large lead pack has strung out a bit, but all the big names are still around about a quarter of the way through the race.
Runners take off in first wave — 10:00 a.m.
The first wave of participants has left the start line in Hopkinton. Despite the same number of 30,000 athletes entered, there will be six waves for the pack instead of four to enhance the starting-line experience and space traffic on the course. Here’s the full schedule.
10:00 a.m. — Wave 1
10:15 a.m. — Wave 2
10:28 a.m. — Wave 3
10:41 a.m. – Wave 4
11:01 a.m. — Wave 5
11:21 a.m. — Wave 6
Rainbow-Cooper maintains lead at halfway mark — 9:56 a.m.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper’s lead is holding steady at the front of the women’s wheelchair race, as she still leads Catherine Debrunner by just over 40 seconds at the halfway point. Debrunner, a 10-time World Marathon Major champion, has already won each of the original six majors except for Boston.
American CJ Albertson leads at 5K — 9:54 a.m.
The men’s elite field is through the 5K mark in 14 minutes, 21 seconds — that’s just under 4:40 mile pace — with all the expected contenders in the pack. American CJ Albertson is out front for now, though he’ll likely pass on another attempt at making a huge breakaway as he did in 2021.
Awaiting runners in Brookline — 9:50 a.m.
By Hannah Goeke, Globe Correspondent
Brookline was still quiet at 8:45 a.m., with the race course empty and no spectators in sight. At Coolidge Corner, a lone pair of friends waited by the barricades.
Erin Duffy, 29, and Carissa Casey, 30, sat on the curb, Dunkin’ coffee in hand, egg-and-sausage sandwiches warming their fingers. They came early for a reason.
“It’s because I’m short, and I want a prime spot,” said Duffy of Beverly.
Duffy and Casey became friends on the cross country team in college and have reunited for their fourth year in a row to watch the marathon.
“It feels like you’re a part of something really large and special,” said Casey of Somerville.
Hug possesses a commanding lead halfway through — 9:48 a.m.
Marcel Hug has hit the half-marathon mark in 36 minutes on the dot, just three seconds behind his half split when he set the course record in 2024. Daniel Romanchuk has moved into second, but he’s just over three minutes behind Hug at the halfway point.
The women’s elite race has begun — 9:47 a.m.
The women’s elite field hit the course, beginning in Hopkinton.
Previewing the women’s elite field — 9:40 a.m.
Sharon Lokedi broke through in a big way at last year’s Boston Marathon, smashing the course record in 2 hours, 17 minutes, 22 seconds to claim her first laurel wreath on Boylston Street.
Lokedi will be the favorite to defend that crown, but six other women enter Monday’s race with personal bests under 2:20, including her fellow Kenyan Irine Cheptai, Ethiopia’s Workenesh Edesa, and American record-holder Emily Sisson.
Sisson leads a strong American field that includes her 2024 Olympic teammate, Dakotah Popehn, and last year’s top American, Jess McClain. Annie Frisbie, Susanna Sullivan, Sara Hall, and Amanda Vestri are other Americans to keep an eye on.
Fiona O’Keeffe, the 2024 US Olympic trials champion and fourth-place finisher at November’s New York City Marathon, was a late withdrawal with a hamstring injury.
The men’s elite race has begun — 9:37 a.m.
The starting gun has commenced the men’s elite race and the runners are off.
Rainbow-Cooper setting the pace at 10K — 9:32 a.m.
Eden Rainbow-Cooper has extended her lead at the front of the women’s wheelchair race, carrying a 43-second advantage through the 10K mark. Catherine Debrunner is alone as the lead chaser, with Manuela Schär another 51 seconds back in third place.
Previewing the men’s elite fields — 9:30 a.m.
John Korir pulled off a very unusual Boston Marathon win last spring, finishing with his race bib in his hand after it had come off in a fall in the opening steps of the race.
Korir will be hoping to stay on his feet in the early going this year as he looks to defend his title on Patriots’ Day. The fastest personal best in the field belongs to Benson Kipruto, the 2021 Boston Marathon champion, who ran 2:02:16 in Chicago in 2024. The men’s elite race will also feature the other two podium finishers from last year, Kenya’s Cybrian Kotut and Tanzania’s Alphonce Felix Simbu.
With American record-holder Conner Mantz out of the race with an injury, his training partner, Clayton Young, will be one of the favorites to claim a top American spot. Zouhair Talbi, a Moroccan-born athlete who became an American citizen in 2025, will also be in the mix; Talbi won the Houston Marathon in 2:05:45 in January to become the third-fastest American ever.
Galen Rupp, runner-up in Boston in 2017 and that year’s Chicago Marathon champion, is also in the field for the first time since a DNF in 2018.
Hug leads by nearly a minute at 10K — 9:26 a.m.
Marcel Hug has gone through the 10K mark in 15 minutes, 50 seconds, leading by nearly a minute over Brit David Weir. Hug is slightly off his course-record pace from 2024, which may be the only source of mystery in the men’s wheelchair race this morning.
Rainbow-Cooper seizes an early lead at 5K — 9:21 a.m.
There’s a breakaway in the women’s wheelchair race already, as Great Britain’s Eden Rainbow-Cooper has already opened up a 25-second lead over Swiss competitors Manuela Schär and Catherine Debrunner through 5K. Rainbow-Cooper broke away early in her surprise win in in 2024, and looks to be trying to replicate that success two years later.
Hug leads at 5K — 9:17 a.m.
As expected, Marcel Hug is out front early in the men’s wheelchair race, with the “Silver Bullet” going through the 5K mark in 7 minutes, 7 seconds — that’s around 2:20 per mile on the course’s early downhill stretch — to open up a 13-second lead over Great Britain’s David Weir. Two-time champion Daniel Romanchuk is off the pace early, lagging back in 14th.
These fans are already at the finish line — 9:15 a.m.
By Christopher Huffaker, Globe Staff
Kristie Whitten, 39 of Needham, began taking younger sister Erin Whitten, now 28, of Revere, to the marathon two decades ago. They like to watch the winners come through, and this year, they arrived hours early in chilly weather and secured the closest possible spot to the finish line, right against the chute wall.
This year, they plan to stay for hours — “At least until after [Zdeno] Chara,” Kristie said. “We’re excited to see Chara.”
In the last few years, Kristie has begun taking her daughter Gabby, 10, and this year they’re joined by Erin’s friend Kevin Rodgers, 30, of Holyoke.“
It is absolutely phenomenal,” Erin said. “It’s why we keep coming back.”
Some day, Kristie and Erin hope to run the race themselves.Until then, Kristie said, “We stand here and support.”
Women’s wheelchair race begins — 9:09 a.m.
Without defending champion Susannah Scaroni in the mix, it should be a three-horse race in the women’s wheelchair division. Four-time winner and course record-holder Manuela Schär, 2024 winner Eden Rainbow-Cooper, and Swiss star Catherine Debrunner — a 10-time World Marathon Major winner, but never in Boston — will likely be vying for the title up front.
Men’s wheelchair race begins — 9:06 a.m.
As it has been for more than a decade, the men’s wheelchair race at the Boston Marathon is a question of whether anybody can take down Marcel Hug.
The Swiss star has won eight of the last 10 men’s wheelchair titles, and a ninth win on Monday would give him the second most victories in the race’s history in any division. His closest competition will likely be American Daniel Romanchuk, winner here in 2019 and 2022, who has often been in Hug’s slipstream early on in recent years.
The race is about to begin — 9:00 a.m.
The men’s wheelchair racers will take off at 9:06 a.m., followed by the women’s wheelchair racers at 9:09 a.m. Athletes are queuing at the start line in Hopkinton.
Previewing the men’s and women’s wheelchair races — 8:50 a.m.
As it has been for more than a decade, the men’s wheelchair race at the Boston Marathon is a question of whether anybody can take down Marcel Hug.
The Swiss star has won eight of the last 10 men’s wheelchair titles, and a ninth win on Monday would give him the second most victories in the race’s history in any division. His closest competition will likely be American Daniel Romanchuk, winner here in 2019 and 2022, who has often been in Hug’s slipstream early on in recent years.
Without defending champion Susannah Scaroni in the mix, it should be a three-horse race in the women’s wheelchair division. Four-time winner and course record-holder Manuela Schär, 2024 winner Eden Rainbow-Cooper, and Swiss star Catherine Debrunner — a 10-time World Marathon Major winner, but never in Boston — will likely be vying for the title up front.
Rollerskater takes on marathon course after seven year hiatus — 8:45 a.m.
By Bryan Hecht, Globe Correspondent
ASHLAND — Fred Alach has rollerskated the marathon course 33 times, starting in 1984. This year, after a seven-year hiatus, he is back on skates, and not planning to stop again soon.
“I’ve got some major changes going on in my life, and I thought this would be a good motivation for me to get into shape,” said Alach, who turns 70 in June.
Gliding lazily down Route 135 in Ashland, he recounted one of his last marathon runs in 2018, which included being bowled over by a car near Coolidge Corner. The “hysterical” incident, as he called it, caused no injuries.
Run the marathon?
“No, that’d be too hard, man,” said Alach, who waited to dust off his skates until a few weeks ago. “I plan on keep on, keeping on, man.”
Gloves and mittens time — 8:35 a.m.
By Marianne Mizera, Globe Staff
It’s a bit brisk this morning for marathon runners and spectators at the starting line – about 35 degrees and sunny in Hopkinton. Globe meteorologist Dave Epstein had to pull out the mittens. “It’s got to be cold on the runners this morning especially hands and feet. Brought back out the mittens for the dog walk,” Epstein said in an early-morning post from his home.
Cold air from an overnight front left a layer of frost on windshields and some lawns across Eastern Massachusetts.It’s actually ideal weather conditions for runners, between 35 and 55 degrees. Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 40s along the route and reach 50 or so in Boston.
Americans are on the rise. But can they actually win Boston? — 8:30 a.m.
By John Powers, Globe Correspondent
There was a time when finishing as the top American in a major marathon was an occasion for star-spangled confetti.
That was before Shalane Flanagan claimed New York in 2017, before Desiree Linden ended a 33-year Boston drought by winning in 2018, before Sara Hall placed second in London in 2020, before Molly Seidel collected the Olympic bronze medal in Tokyo.
“It’s a new expectation, a new standard,” said Dakotah Popehn. “Pretty soon it’s going to be, let’s podium or bust!”
Not since Jordan Hasay placed third in 2019 has an American woman finished that high here. That could change on Monday when the deepest domestic field in history takes the line in Hopkinton for the 130th running of the planet’s most storied footrace.
Military service members walk the course early for mental health awareness — 8:15 a.m.
By Bryan Hecht, Globe Correspondent
ASHLAND — Over three hours before any runners and wheelchair athletes are set to begin the 26.2-mile marathon course, roughly 50 members of the military stepped off the starting line at Hopkinton for an annual military march.
Members of the National Guard, Air Force, and Army passed through sleepy Ashland in the early miles of the course around 7 a.m., just as race volunteers were beginning to defrost their supplies.
Capt. Kanwar Singh, 36, of the Massachusetts National Guard, who led the marchers, has participated every year since 2019 in honor of victims of the 2013 marathon bombings.
When marchers cross the finish line, they will also do 22 pushups to raise awareness of the high suicide rates among veterans, which Singh said can reach as high as 22 per day.
“Sadly, we have a huge mental health crisis going on,” said Singh, who has been in the National Guard for 11 years and is originally from Virginia. “I’ve had sadly too many soldiers and airmen who have struggled with mental health and tragically fallen, so I do that for them.”
He said he also marches for himself, having faced his own mental health struggles.
“I am not afraid to accept that,” Singh said. “During the pandemic, I realized, it’s okay to seek help because that doesn’t make you weak as a leader, that makes you stronger.”
Sergey Senatov, a 37-year-old Airman First Class stationed at Westfield, walked the course just behind carrying a hot black coffee in either hand as he started off on his first military march.
“America runs on Dunkin’,” said Senatov, who is originally from Russia. “We’re a representation for America.”
For 26 years, he installed the Marathon finish line. This year, his family stepped up in his absence. — 8:00 a.m.
By Hannah Goeke, Globe Correspondent
For 26 years, Ottavio Bolognese helped define the final moments of the Boston Marathon, a year for each mile of the grueling race.
On Thursday, a few months after Bolognese died from a brain tumor, his daughter and grandson were on Boylston Street to carry on his proud legacy, part of a small team that carefully installed the finish line, his portrait by their side.
“I wanted to meet the people that my father always came home and would talk about,” Nicole Bolognese, 54, said Friday. “To see that they knew my dad by name and were that excited to see his picture, that was everything my father represented. To see that smile from them, that meant the world to me.”
Ottavio Bolognese, the founder and owner of Accurate Graphics in Lynn, died from a brain tumor in October. He was 82.
Getting to the start line — 7:45 a.m.
By Claire Thornton, Globe Staff
Hopkinton Town Clerk Connor Degan and his family parked at Hopkinton State Park before 7:30am on Monday, and boarded a yellow school bus to take them to the starting line.
Degan said he grew up in Hopkinton and has been coming to the starting line his whole life.
“I wouldn’t miss it, it’s a blast every year,” Degan, 33, said.
Degan and his wife, Julia, brought their two-year-old son, Aiden.
“He’s going to grow to love it,” said Julia. Aiden has yet to miss a marathon.
What time does the Boston Marathon start? — 7:30 a.m.
The race employs a wave-start format, with a tweak. Despite the same number of 30,000 athletes entered, there will be six waves for the pack, instead of four, to enhance the starting-line experience and space traffic on the course.
9:06 a.m. — Men’s Wheelchair Division
9:09 a.m. — Women’s Wheelchair Division
9:30 a.m. — Handcycles and Duo Participants
9:37 a.m. — Professional Men
9:47 a.m. — Professional Women
9:50 a.m. — Para Athletics Division
10:00 a.m. — Wave 1
10:15 a.m. — Wave 2
10:28 a.m. — Wave 3
10:41 a.m. – Wave 4
11:01 a.m. — Wave 5
11:21 a.m. — Wave 6
Following the start order, the wheelchair athletes will be the first to cross the yellow and blue finish line, with the men around 10:15 a.m., and the women roughly 10 minutes later.
The men’s elite field will conclude the morning on Boylston Street. Just after noon, the women will complete their race and the final elite champion will be crowned.
Projected finish times:
10:15-10:25 a.m. — Men’s wheelchair
10:30-10:40 a.m. — Women’s wheelchair
11:37-11:47 a.m. — Professional men
12:04-12:14 p.m. — Professional women
Could we see a record fall today? — 7:00 a.m.
By John Powers, Globe Correspondent
Given the tricky topography, mercurial weather, and absence of pacers, course records at the Boston Marathon are notoriously elusive.
But Kenya’s Sharon Lokedi managed it last year when she demolished the women’s standard that had stood since 2014. And countryman John Korir ran the fastest men’s time since Geoffrey Mutai established a world best in 2011.
Both champions will be back on the Hopkinton starting line on Monday morning for the 130th edition of the planet’s most exacting 26.2-miler.
With a forecast of temperatures in the 40s with a decent tailwind, could Mutai’s mark of 2 hours, 3 minutes, and 2 seconds finally fall? Could Lokedi lower her own record?
Korir, whose time of 2:04:45 was the third-fastest in race history, might have gone lower had he not been tripped at the start and run the last six miles unchallenged.
“I think if I had someone to push me last year, we would have been very close to the course record,” reckoned Korir, who posted a scorching 2:02:24 in Valencia in December. “If everything goes good this year, it is in my mind to go for it.”
Nike removes ‘walkers tolerated’ ad from Newbury Street store after blowback — 6:40 a.m.
By Molly Farrar, Boston.com Staff
Nike removed an ad from the window of its Newbury Street store, hundreds of feet from the finish line of the Boston Marathon, after its “walkers tolerated” message sparked outrage online.
The sign that read in large block letters “Runners welcome. Walkers tolerated.” lasted a little over a week and was taken down by Friday, according to GBH News.
“We listen to the voice of the athlete,” Nike said in a comment when reached by email Sunday night.
The media relations team included an image of what appeared to be the new ad, reading “Boston will always remind you, movement is what matters.”
Nike initially addressed its removal in a statement to Runner’s World, saying it “missed the mark.” The advertisement was to inspire runners at Monday’s Boston Marathon, one of the most competitive marathons in the country, the company said.
Which notables are running today’s Marathon? — 6:30 a.m.
By Shannon Larson, Globe Staff
Among the 30,000 athletes participating in the 130th Boston Marathon, the field includes a number of familiar names — from local sports heroes and reality television stars to world-class running legends and an astronaut.
See photos of the Boston Marathon through the years — 6:00 a.m.
The Boston Marathon has evolved from 15 runners in 1897 to approximately 30,000 in 2026 and featured some of the world’s greatest runners.
The Globe’s photo editors took a trip into the archives to select images from past marathons. Scroll through to see highlights and more through the years.
It’s ideal running weather for Marathon Monday. Here’s a route breakdown. — 5:30 a.m.
By Ken Mahan, Globe Staff
Runners will absolutely love the temperatures and overall conditions — the race will start in the upper 30s to low 40s in Hopkinton and slowly tick up to the upper 40s and low 50s along the route to Boston, with the wind chill shaving off a couple of degrees. So it will be about 10 degrees below average for the area, and certainly won’t be as hot as last year, when morning temperatures in the mid-50s climbed to a high of 73 under sunny skies.
A front passed through the region overnight, clearing the way for high pressure and some sunshine to take over Monday morning. A couple of brief showers or sprinkles are possible and could pass over portions of the course during the late morning and afternoon, so spectators may want to bring a rain jacket, poncho, or umbrella just in case.
Happy Marathon Monday! — 5:00 a.m.
Welcome to Marathon Monday. The race features the work of 2,500 volunteers across all 26.2 miles. There are 856 tables, 26 medical and 24 hydration stations, and 400 portable toilets.
It is the 130th running of the race, and there are plenty of milestones to acknowledge.
During the 1926 Boston Marathon, 100 years ago, Nova Scotia’s Johnny Miles upset Olympic champion Albin Stenroos to win. This year, a crew from Canada will run in Miles’s honor. It’s the 90th anniversary of Ellison “Tarzan” Brown running away from Johnny Kelley in the Newton hills, which prompted Globe writer Jerry Nason to dub them “Heartbreak” — a name that stuck. Sixty years ago, Bobbi Gibb became the first unofficial female finisher. And 15 years ago, Kenya’s Geoffrey Mutai set the men’s elite course record with a 2:03:02 finish.
What might today bring? Follow along.
Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com. Cam Kerry can be reached at cam.kerry@globe.com. Katie McInerney can be reached at katie.mcinerney@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram at @katiemac.sports.